Structural highlights
FunctionPublication Abstract from PubMedActivation and inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) are well-studied, yet the molecular mechanisms governing channel gating in the membrane remain unknown. We present two conformations of a Nav from Caldalkalibacillus thermarum reconstituted into lipid bilayers in one crystal at 9A resolution based on electron crystallography. Despite a voltage sensor arrangement identical to that in the activated form, we observed two distinct pore domain structures: a prominent form with a relatively open inner gate and a closed inner gate conformation similar to the first prokaryotic Nav structure. Structural differences, together with mutational and electrophysiological analyses, indicated that widening of the inner gate was dependent on interactions among the S4-S5 linker, the N-terminal part of S5 and its adjoining part in S6, and on inter-helical repulsion by a negatively charged C-terminal region subsequent to S6. Our findings suggest that these specific interactions result in two conformational structures. Two alternative conformations of a voltage-gated sodium channel.,Tsai CJ, Tani K, Irie K, Hiroaki Y, Shimomura T, McMillan DG, Cook GM, Schertler G, Fujiyoshi Y, Li XD J Mol Biol. 2013 Jul 2. pii: S0022-2836(13)00431-2. doi:, 10.1016/j.jmb.2013.06.036. PMID:23831224[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. See AlsoReferences
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