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Supramolecular Organization and Functional Implications of K + Channel Clusters in Membranes
Author(s) -
Visscher Koen M.,
MedeirosSilva João,
Mance Deni,
Rodrigues João P. G. L. M.,
Daniëls Mark,
Bonvin Alexandre M. J. J.,
Baldus Marc,
Weingarth Markus
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201705723
Subject(s) - kcsa potassium channel , supramolecular chemistry , membrane , gating , ion channel , biophysics , chemistry , nanotechnology , materials science , molecule , receptor , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry
Abstract The segregation of cellular surfaces in heterogeneous patches is considered to be a common motif in bacteria and eukaryotes that is underpinned by the observation of clustering and cooperative gating of signaling membrane proteins such as receptors or channels. Such processes could represent an important cellular strategy to shape signaling activity. Hence, structural knowledge of the arrangement of channels or receptors in supramolecular assemblies represents a crucial step towards a better understanding of signaling across membranes. We herein report on the supramolecular organization of clusters of the K + channel KcsA in bacterial membranes, which was analyzed by a combination of DNP‐enhanced solid‐state NMR experiments and MD simulations. We used solid‐state NMR spectroscopy to determine the channel–channel interface and to demonstrate the strong correlation between channel function and clustering, which suggests a yet unknown mechanism of communication between K + channels.