Membrane mechanics predict that the ion channel Piezo recruits the surrounding membrane to amplify its sensitivity to changes in membrane tension, with greatest sensitivity in the low-tension regime.
The amino acids that are necessary for phospholipid scrambling by ANO6/TMEM16F can, via domain swapping, confer scrambling activity to the chloride ion channel ANO1 that normally does not scramble phospholipids.
Phosphatidic acid influences the gating of voltage-gated K+ channels through a non-specific surface charge mechanism and through a specific interaction between a voltage sensor arginine and the primary phosphate head group on the cytoplasmic membrane leaflet.
Binding of a charged small molecule to a membrane protein changes the amplitude of the apparent membrane capacitance by changing the charge density at the surfaces of the membrane.
Engineered E3 ubiquitin ligases are utilized to elucidate mechanisms underlying ubiquitin regulation of membrane proteins, and to achieve robust post-translational functional knockdown of ion channels.
The principal potassium ion channel in human sperm, Slo3, is primarily activated by calcium ions and controls the membrane potential of human sperm by intracellular calcium ion levels rather than intracellular pH.
Efflux of xenobiotic fluoride from microorganisms occurs through a novel family of ion channels with stringent selectivity for fluoride ion and dual-topology molecular architecture.
The 3Å structure and correlated functional analysis of the TRPM2 cation channel from Nematostella vectensis shed light on the molecular mechanisms of TRPM2 regulation by intra- and extracellular Ca2+, and of inactivation of human TRPM2.
Structures of a TMEM16 phospholipid scramblase reveal that its Ca2+-dependent activation entails global conformational changes and how these rearrangements affect the membrane to enable transbilayer lipid transfer.
