ArticleBiophysical journal2007
The predominant role of coordination number in potassium channel selectivity.
Article in Biophysical journal, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Architectural Forces in Ion Selectivity.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Article
- Flexibility-Induced Collective Behavior Drives Symmetry Breaking in Discrimination of Undesired Ions.JACS Au · 2025Article
- Article
- A highly-selective biomimetic potassium channel.National science review · 2024Article
- The Molecular Mechanism of Ion Selectivity in Nanopores.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Designing artificial ion channels with strict KNational science review · 2023Article
- Alkali metal cations modulate the geometry of different binding sites in HCN4 selectivity filter for permeation or block.The Journal of general physiology · 2023Article
- Computational methods and theory for ion channel research.Advances in physics: X · 2022Article
- Direct knock-on of desolvated ions governs strict ion selectivity in KNature chemistry · 2018Article
- The naked truth about KNature chemistry · 2018Article
- Ion Permeation Mechanism in Epithelial Calcium Channel TRVP6.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Key diffusion mechanisms involved in regulating bidirectional water permeation across E. coli outer membrane lectin.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Structure, Dynamics, and Substrate Specificity of the OprO Porin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Biophysical journal · 2015Article
- K(+) and Na(+) conduction in selective and nonselective ion channels via molecular dynamics simulations.Biophysical journal · 2013Review
- Role of methyl-induced polarization in ion binding.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2013Article
- The mechanism of Na⁺/K⁺ selectivity in mammalian voltage-gated sodium channels based on molecular dynamics simulation.Biophysical journal · 2013Article
- Article
- An entropic mechanism of generating selective ion binding in macromolecules.PLoS computational biology · 2013Article
- Nonselective conduction in a mutated NaK channel with three cation-binding sites.Biophysical journal · 2012Article
- Structural correlates of selectivity and inactivation in potassium channels.Biochimica et biophysica acta · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Potassium channels are exquisitely selective, allowing K+ to pass across cell membranes while blocking other ion types. Here we demonstrate that the number of carbonyl oxygen atoms that surround permeating ions is the most important factor in determining ion selectivity rather than the size of the pore or the strength of the coordinating dipoles. Although the electrostatic properties of the coordinating ligands can lead to Na+ or K+ selectivity at some values of the dipole moment, no significant selectivity arises at the specific value of the dipole moment for carbonyl groups found in potassium channels when the ligands have complete freedom. Rather, we show that the main contribution to selectivity arises from slight constraints on the conformational freedom of the channel protein that limit the number of carbonyl oxygen atoms to a value better suited to K+ than Na+, despite the pore being flexible. This mechanism provides an example of a general framework for explaining ion discrimination in a range of natural and synthetic macromolecules in which selectivity is controlled by the number of coordinating ligands in addition to their dipole moment.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.