Potassium channels

KCNQ1 channels are active in heart, brain and gut. Functional loss causes epilepsy and sudden arrhythmic death. Here, authors describe a key activator drug binding site, explaining isoform and drug selectivity, and point the way for new drug design.

The authors report a functional class of channelrhodopsins that are highly selective for K⁺ over Na⁺. These light-gated channels, named ‘kalium channelrhodopsins’, enable robust inhibition of mouse cortical neurons with millisecond precision.

TWIK1 is a pH-gated K + channel highly expressed in brain and heart that contributes to cardiac rhythm and insulin release. Here, Turney et al. use cryo-EM and electrophysiology to show how TWIK1 gates closed in response to lowered pH through conformational changes centered at the selectivity filter.

K_ATP channels are energy sensors. Here, authors report the Cryo-EM structures of pancreatic K_ATP in both the closed state and the pre-open state. These structures illuminate the mechanism of K_ATP channel regulation by the intracellular nucleotides.

SUR2-containing KATP channels are drug targets for certain vasodilators. Here, the authors determine high-resolution cryo-EM structures of SUR2 in complex with two vasodilators, P1075 and levcromakalim, uncovering the mechanisms of these drugs.

Physiological matching of blood flow to the demand for oxygen by the heart is required for sustained cardiac health, yet the underlying mechanisms are obscure. Here, the authors report a key role for acute modifications to the redox state of intracellular pyridine nucleotides in coronary smooth muscle and their impact on voltage-gated K + channels in metabolic vasodilation