Ion conduction and selectivity in the ryanodine receptor channel
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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Functional Characterization of Endogenously Expressed Human RYR1 Variants
Published on: June 9, 2021
1Cardiac Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, Dovehouse St., London SW3 6LY, United Kingdom. a.j.williams@ic.ac.uk
Abstract:
The ryanodine receptor channel is an intracellular membrane Ca2+-release channel. The investigation of ion translocation and discrimination in individual channels under voltage-clamp conditions has revealed that the channel can sustain very high rates of cation translocation, has high affinity for divalent cations and displays relatively poor discrimination between physiologically relevant cations. In this article I will discuss the mechanisms underlying these characteristic properties, the regions of the channel molecule likely to be involved in ion handling and speculate on the structure of the conduction pathway of Ca2+-release channels.
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