Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Potassium permeation through the KcsA channel: a density functional study.

Leonardo Guidoni1, Paolo Carloni

  • 1Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia (INFM), Italy and International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Via Beirut 4, 34014 Trieste, Italy.

Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
|May 15, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

hexABC seeking the physical code of DNA.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Decoding Cancer-Associated Mutations in DNA Polymerase η through Atomistic Simulations.

Journal of chemical theory and computation·2026
Same author

Structural and functional role of the magnesium ion in the human oxytocin receptor.

Journal of inorganic biochemistry·2026
Same author

pH-dependent structural dynamics of neuropeptide Y in aqueous solution.

PloS one·2026
Same author

Protonation-dependent substrate release in a bacterial homolog of vesicular glutamate.

Biophysical journal·2026
Same author

MiMiCPy-FM: A User-Friendly Force Matching Tool for Extending the Time Scale of QM/MM MD MiMiC Simulations.

Journal of chemical information and modeling·2026

This study reveals that potassium ion (K+) permeation through the KcsA channel involves significant polarization effects. These electronic changes, especially at transition states, are crucial for regulating potassium ion transport.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Computational Chemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • The KcsA channel is a key potassium channel involved in cellular electrical signaling.
  • Understanding ion permeation mechanisms is vital for numerous physiological processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the structural and electronic factors governing potassium ion (K+) permeation in the KcsA channel.
  • To elucidate the role of ion-ligand interactions during K+ translocation.

Main Methods:

  • Density functional calculations were performed on models derived from molecular dynamics simulations.
  • Analysis focused on the coordination environment and electronic polarization of K+ ions during permeation.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • A decrease in the coordination number of K+ ions was observed during translocation between binding sites.
  • Significant polarization of K+ ion ligands, including backbone carbonyl groups and water molecules, was identified.
  • K+-induced polarization was markedly enhanced at the transition state between binding sites.

    • Conclusions:

    • Polarization effects play a critical role in the microscopic mechanisms of potassium ion permeation through the KcsA channel.
    • These findings offer insights into the selectivity and transport dynamics of potassium channels.