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Related Concept Videos

Resting Membrane Potential01:24

Resting Membrane Potential

The relative difference in electrical charge, or voltage, between the inside and the outside of a cell membrane, is called the membrane potential. It is generated by differences in permeability of the membrane to various ions and the concentrations of these ions across the membrane.
The Inside of a Neuron is More Negative
The membrane potential of a cell can be measured by inserting a microelectrode into a cell and comparing the charge to a reference electrode in the extracellular fluid. The...
Voltage-gated Ion Channels01:26

Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
Generally, all voltage-gated ion channels have a 'voltage-sensing domain' that spans the lipid bilayer. The charged residues in the sensor move in response to the membrane potential changes that open the channel allowing ions movement. There are several types of...
Voltage-gated Ion Channels01:26

Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
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Types of Toxins01:36

Types of Toxins

Humans continually engage with an environment rich in potentially harmful chemicals. These are introduced to our bodies through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact. These chemicals exist in various forms, such as air and environmental pollutants, agricultural chemicals, organic solvents, and heavy metals.
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Visualization of Bacterial Toxin Induced Responses Using Live Cell Fluorescence Microscopy
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Interactions between a voltage sensor and a toxin via multiscale simulations.

Chze Ling Wee1, David Gavaghan, Mark S P Sansom

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Biophysical Journal
|April 23, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gating-modifier toxins access voltage sensors (VS) by first entering the cell membrane from water. This membrane-access mechanism explains how toxins like VSTx1 inhibit potassium channels (KvAP).

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Computational Chemistry

Background:

  • Gating-modifier toxins inhibit voltage-gated ion channels by binding to voltage sensors (VS).
  • The mechanism of toxin access to the VS, particularly via the membrane, is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the membrane-access mechanism of the toxin VSTx1 binding to the voltage sensor domain (VS) of the KvAP channel.
  • To elucidate the interaction interface between VSTx1 and the KvAP VS using molecular dynamics simulations.

Main Methods:

  • Serial multiscale molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations combining coarse-grained (CG) and atomistic (AT) approaches.
  • Simulating the partitioning of VSTx1 from water to the lipid bilayer interface and subsequent binding to the VS.
  • Atomistic MD simulations to refine the toxin-VS complex and interaction interface.

Main Results:

  • In CG simulations, VSTx1 partitioned into the lipid bilayer's headgroup/water interface before binding the VS.
  • VSTx1 bound to a site on the VS involving the S1 and S4 segments and the S1-S2 linker.
  • Simulations suggest toxin-induced perturbations of VS-pore domain and VS-membrane interactions.

Conclusions:

  • The study supports a membrane-access mechanism for VS toxin inhibition of Kv channels.
  • Serial multiscale MD simulations are effective for modeling multi-stage interactions involving proteins, membranes, and toxins.