Expression and Purification of the Human Cation-chloride Cotransporter KCC1 from HEK293F Cells for Structural Studies

Cation-chloride cotransporters (CCCs) mediate the coupled, electroneutral symport of cations such as Na+ and/or K+ with chloride across membrane. Among CCCs family, K-Cl cotransporters (KCC1-KCC4) extrude intracellular Cl- by the transmembrane K+ gradient. In humans, these KCCs play vital roles in the physiology of the nervous system and kidney. However, mechanisms underlying the KCCs specific properties remain poorly understood, partly because purification of membrane proteins is challenging. Here, we present the protocol for purifying the full-length KCC1 from HEK293F cells used in our recent publication ( Liu et al., 2019 ). The procedure may be adapted for functional and structural studies.