Why the study?
While potassium channel permeation has conventionally been explained by a steric mechanism, non-canonical mechanisms have recently been proposed for some classes of K+ channels.
This review highlights emerging non-canonical mechanisms of permeation control in potassium channels, which may offer new targets for selective intervention in pathophysiological conditions.
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K+ channel gating offers selective intervention targets in cardiac disease; leaves open non-steric mechanisms for further study.
The primary means by which ion permeation through potassium channels is controlled, and the key to selective intervention in a range of pathophysiological conditions, is the process by which channels switch between non‐conducting and conducting states. Conventionally, this has been explained by a steric mechanism in which the pore alternates between two conformations: a ‘closed’ state in which the conduction pathway is occluded and an ‘open’ state in which the pathway is sufficiently wide to accommodate fully hydrated ions. Recently, however, ‘non‐canonical’ mechanisms have been proposed for some classes of K + channels. The purpose of this review is to illuminate structural and dynamic relationships underpinning permeation control in K + channels, indicating where additional data might resolve some of the remaining issues.
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Black et al. (2019) studied this question.
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