Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-28-2012
Abstract
Small- and intermediate-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels, activated by Ca2+-bound calmodulin, play an important role in regulating membrane excitability. These channels are also linked to clinical abnormalities. A tremendous amount of effort has been devoted to developing small molecule compounds targeting these channels. However, these compounds often suffer from low potency and lack of selectivity, hindering their potentials for clinical use. A key contributing factor is the lack of knowledge of the binding site(s) for these compounds. Here we demonstrate by X-ray crystallography that the binding pocket for the compounds of the 1-EBIO class is located at the calmodulin-channel interface. We show that, based on structure data and molecular docking, mutations of the channel can effectively change the potency of these compounds. Our results provide insight into the molecular nature of the binding pocket and its contribution to the potency and selectivity of the compounds of the 1-EBIO class.
Recommended Citation
Zhang M, Pascal JM, Schumann M, Armens RS, Zhang JF. Identification of the functional binding pocket for compounds targeting small-conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels. Nature Communications. 2012 Aug 28;3:1021. PMCID: PMC3563359. doi: 10.1038/ncomms2017
Copyright
Macmillan
Comments
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Nature Communications, volume 28, issue 3, in 2012 following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2017.