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Updated: Dec 22, 2025

Site Directed Spin Labeling and EPR Spectroscopic Studies of Pentameric Ligand-Gated Ion Channels
Published on: July 4, 2016
Reversible Ligand-Gated Ion Channel via Interconversion between Hollow Single Helix and Intertwined Double Helix
Dongya Bai1, Tengfei Yan2, Shi Wang1
1Institute of Functional Organic Molecular Engineering, Henan Engineering Laboratory of Flame-Retardant and Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.
Abstract:
Ligand responsiveness is one of the typical mechanisms in biological organization to trigger sophisticated channel switching. Here, we report a new type of helical trimer which can undergo transition between a hollow single helix and an intertwined double helix with no cavity by complexation and decomplexation of Cu ions. In addition, the one dimensional (1D) hollow helical tubes spontaneously generated from single helices via π-π interactions embedded into the lipid bilayers and displayed satisfactory channel stability and efficiency. With the addition of CuI ions and further extraction with ammonia, the disassembly and reassembly of 1D hollow helical tubes gave rise to the reversible switching of channel activity in situ inside the bilayers. The synthetic helical system provides the first model of reversible ligand-gated ion channel by means of dynamic transition between single and double helices, which will be available for developing intelligent artificial nanochannels for potential biological and medicinal applications.
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