Abstract
Collective behavior of S6 peptide channels derived from KvAP (a bacterial potassium channel) incorporated in lipid bilayer membrane, has been investigated at various applied potentials through multi-channel electrophysiological experiments. The current versus time traces at any particular membrane potential show clear steps for sequential opening of the multi-channels. The minimum current (representing one-channel current) was found out from the amplitude histograms. Accordingly, the number of open channels corresponding to a particular open state was calculated. It was observed that the above-mentioned one channel current is higher than the corresponding single-channel current at most of the applied membrane potentials. Moreover, the difference between the single and one channel conductances is a nonlinear function of the membrane potential. We conclude that the S6 multi-channels show co-operative gating. Voltage relaxation studies support the above-mentioned conclusion.
Highlights
Ion channels are a well-known group of proteins forming passage across the cell or organelle membranes facilitating transport of ions and metabolites selectively or non-selectively
In the present work we have investigated the collective behavior of S6 peptide derived from KvAP channel on bilayer lipid membrane (BLM)
Extensive multichannel recordings of current versus time show that there is hardly a fully closed state meaning the individual channels in a multichannel cluster prefer to open together and remain in the open states collectively
Summary
Ion channels are a well-known group of proteins forming passage across the cell or organelle membranes facilitating transport of ions and metabolites selectively or non-selectively. In cells ion-channels exist and function in clusters [1,2]. As a result collective behavior of ion channels has become the key to understanding several phenomena in membrane biology. A general observation is that the behavior and function of a system often deviate from that of an individual unit in the system [6,7,8]. One of the reasons for this deviation is the cooperative interaction among the individuals. The clusters of ion channels mentioned above quite often behave cooperatively, self-organize and control the ion-flux across the membrane [9]. Changes in the structure and function of one channel affect the neighboring channels’ activities
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