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Science 2 July 1999:
Vol. 285. no. 5424, pp. 100 - 102
DOI: 10.1126/science.285.5424.100
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Reports

The Cavity and Pore Helices in the KcsA K+ Channel: Electrostatic Stabilization of Monovalent Cations

Benoît Roux, 1 Roderick MacKinnon 2

The electrostatic influence of the central cavity and pore alpha helices in the potassium ion channel from Streptomyces lividans (KcsA K+ channel) was analyzed by solving the finite difference Poisson equation. The cavity and helices overcome the destabilizing influence of the membrane and stabilize a cation at the membrane center. The electrostatic effect of the pore helices is large compared to that described for water-soluble proteins because of the low dielectric membrane environment. The combined contributions of the ion self-energy and the helix electrostatic field give rise to selectivity for monovalent cations in the water-filled cavity. Thus, the K+ channel uses simple electrostatic principles to solve the fundamental problem of ion destabilization by the cell membrane lipid bilayer.

1 GRTM, Dipartements de Physique et Chimie, Université de Montréal, Case Postal 6128, succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Canada H3C 3J7.
2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.

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