|
|
Article: Modeling diverse range of potassium channels with Brownian dynamics
- Article from:
- Biophysical Journal
- Article date:
- July 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Biophysical Society Jul 2002. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
ABSTRACT Using the experimentally determined KcsA structure as a template, we propose a plausible explanation for the diversity of potassium channels seen in nature. A simplified model of KcsA is constructed from its atomic resolution structure by smoothing out the protein-water boundary and representing the atoms forming the channel protein as a homogeneous, low dielectric medium. The properties of the simplified and atomic-detail models, deduced from electrostatic calculations and Brownian dynamics simulations, are shown to be qualitatively similar. We then study how the current flowing across the simplified model channel changes as the shape of the intrapore region is modified. This is ...