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Structural interactions of a voltage sensor toxin with lipid membranes

Mihaela Mihailescu1, Dmitriy Krepkiy2, Mirela Milescu3

  • 1Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850; National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 3, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Tarantula toxins interact with lipid membranes, localizing to the headgroup region and thinning the bilayer. This specific orientation facilitates toxin binding to voltage-gated ion channels.

Keywords:
membrane structureneutron diffractiontoxin–membrane interactionvoltage sensor toxinvoltage-activated ion channel

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