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Updated: Sep 29, 2025

Enrichment of Mammalian Tissues and Xenopus Oocytes with Cholesterol
Published on: March 25, 2020
A molecular switch controls the impact of cholesterol on a Kir channel
Valentina Corradi1,2, Anna N Bukiya3, Williams E Miranda1,2
1Centre for Molecular Simulation, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Abstract:
SignificanceCholesterol is one of the main components found in plasma membranes and is involved in lipid-dependent signaling enabled by integral membrane proteins such as inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channels. Similar to other ion channels, most of the Kir channels are down-regulated by cholesterol. One of the very few notable exceptions is Kir3.4, which is up-regulated by this important lipid. Here, we discovered and characterized a molecular switch that controls the impact (up-regulation vs. down-regulation) of cholesterol on Kir3.4. Our results provide a detailed molecular mechanism of tunable cholesterol regulation of a potassium channel.
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