We employ recently revealed structural information for the potassium channel in molecular and Brownian dynamics simulations to investigate the physical mechanisms involved in the transport of ions across this channel. We show that ion selectivity arises from the ability of the channel protein to completely solvate potassium ions but not the smaller sodium ions. From energy and free energy pertu...

The rational design and development of four-fold symmetrical ligands for potassium channels is described.

the present study reports a microwave-assisted method for the synthesis of twelve novel tricyclic 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives in which dimethyl-substituted cyclohexane and / or tetrahydrothiophene rings are fused to the dhp ring. the structures of the compounds were confirmed by spectral methods and elemental analysis. the potassium channel opening effects of the compounds were determined o...

Kinetics of single voltage-dependent Shaker potassium channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes were studied in the absence of fast N-type inactivation. Comparison of the single-channel first latency distribution and the time course of the ensemble average current showed that the activation time course and its voltage dependence are largely determined by the transitions before first opening. The op...

G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channels (GIRK/Kir3) are important elements in controlling cellular excitability. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made toward understanding various components involved in channel activation, modulation, and signaling specificity. In this review, we summarize these recent findings and attempt to put them in context with recently avail...