Abstract
The big conductance (BK) potassium channels are important in modulating muscle contraction, neural transmission and circadian pacemaker output, and have been implicated in many diseases including asthma, epilepsy, hypertension, and stroke. BK channels can be activated by both membrane voltage and intracellular calcium binding. Intriguingly, Cryo-EM structures show that BK channels remain wide-open in both calcium-bound and free states. Combining atomistic simulations and experiments, we recently showed that BK channels contain a “hydrophobic gate”, where the inner pore can undergo hydrophobic dewetting to give rise to a (water) vapor barrier to block ion flow.
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