The molecular architecture of the NH2 and COOH termini of the prokaryotic potassium channel KcsA has been determined using site-directed spin-labeling methods and paramagnetic resonance EPR spectroscopy. Cysteine mutants were generated (residues 5–24 and 121–160) and spin labeled, and the X-band CW EPR spectra were obtained from liposome-reconstituted channels at room temperature. Data on probe mobility (ΔHo−1), accessibility parameters (ΠO2 and ΠNiEdda), and inter-subunit spin-spin interaction (Ω) were used as structural constraints to build a three-dimensional folding model of these cytoplasmic domains from a set of simulated annealing and restrained molecular dynamics runs. 32 backbone structures were generated and averaged using fourfold symmetry, and a final mean structure was obtained from the eight lowest energy runs. Based on the present data, together with information from the KcsA crystal structure, a model for the three-dimensional fold of full-length KcsA was constructed. In this model, the NH2 terminus of KcsA forms an α-helix anchored at the membrane–water interface, while the COOH terminus forms a right-handed four-helix bundle that extend some 40–50 Å towards the cytoplasm. Functional analysis of COOH-terminal deletion constructs suggest that, while the COOH terminus does not play a substantial role in determining ion permeation properties, it exerts a modulatory role in the pH-dependent gating mechanism.
Gap-junction channels (GJCs) are aqueous channels that communicate adjacent cells. They are formed by head-to-head association of two hemichannels (HCs), one from each of the adjacent cells. Functional HCs are connexin hexamers composed of one or more connexin isoforms. Deafness is the most frequent sensineural disorder, and mutations of Cx26 are the most common cause of genetic deafness. Cx43 is the most ubiquitous connexin, expressed in many organs, tissues and cell types, including heart, brain and kidney. Alterations in its expression and function play important roles in the pathophysiology of very frequent medical problems such as those related to cardiac and brain ischemia. There is extensive information on the relationship between phosphorylation and Cx43 targeting, location and function from experiments in cells and organs in normal and pathological conditions. However, the molecular mechanisms of Cx43 regulation by phosphorylation are hard to tackle in complex systems. Here, we present the use of purified HCs as a model for functional and structural studies. Cx26 and Cx43 are the only isoforms that have been purified, reconstituted, and subjected to functional and structural analysis. Purified Cx26 and Cx43 HCs have properties compatible with those demonstrated in cells, and present methodologies for the functional analysis of purified HCs reconstituted in liposomes. We show that phosphorylation of serine 368 by PKC produces a partial closure of the Cx43 HCs, changing solute selectivity. We also present evidence that the effect of phosphorylation is highly cooperative, requiring modification of several connexin subunits, and that phosphorylation of serine 368 elicits conformational changes in the purified HCs. The use of purified HCs is starting to provide critical data to understand the regulation of HCs at the molecular level.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='scale(-1 1)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b' transform='rotate(72)'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23b' transform='rotate(-72)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23c' transform='rotate(144)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
'/%3e%3c/defs%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0h10080v5040H0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='.6' d='m0 0 6 3m0-3L0 3' clip-path='url(%23b)' transform='scale(840)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23e4002b' stroke-width='.4' d='m0 0 6 3m0-3L0 3' clip-path='url(%23c)' transform='scale(840)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='840' d='M2520 0v2520M0 1260h5040'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23e4002b' stroke-width='504' d='M2520 0v2520M0 1260h5040'/%3e%3cg fill='%23fff'%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' x='2520' y='3780'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='7560' y='4200'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='6300' y='2205'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='7560' y='840'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='8680' y='1869'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23e' x='8064' y='2730'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)