Projection structure of a ClC-type chloride channel at 6.5 Å resolution

JA Mindell, M Maduke, C Miller, N Grigorieff - Nature, 2001 - nature.com
JA Mindell, M Maduke, C Miller, N Grigorieff
Nature, 2001nature.com
Virtually all cells in all eukaryotic organisms express ion channels of the ClC type, the only
known molecular family of chloride-ion-selective channels. The diversity of ClC channels
highlights the multitude and range of functions served by gated chloride-ion conduction in
biological membranes, such as controlling electrical excitability in skeletal muscle,
maintaining systemic blood pressure, acidifying endosomal compartments, and regulating
electrical responses of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)-containing interneurons in the central …
Abstract
Virtually all cells in all eukaryotic organisms express ion channels of the ClC type, the only known molecular family of chloride-ion-selective channels. The diversity of ClC channels highlights the multitude and range of functions served by gated chloride-ion conduction in biological membranes, such as controlling electrical excitability in skeletal muscle, maintaining systemic blood pressure, acidifying endosomal compartments, and regulating electrical responses of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid)-containing interneurons in the central nervous system. Previously, we expressed and purified a prokaryotic ClC channel homologue. Here we report the formation of two-dimensional crystals of this ClC channel protein reconstituted into phospholipid bilayer membranes. Cryo-electron microscopic analysis of these crystals yields a projection structure at 6.5 Å resolution, which shows off-axis water-filled pores within the dimeric channel complex.
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