Multi-ion PMFs of KcsA barium blockades - Rowley and Roux
Channel: Journal of General Physiology
Date: 2013-09-16

Electrophysiological studies have established that the permeation of Ba2+ ions through the KcsA K+-channel is impeded by the presence of K+ ions in the external solution, while no effect is observed for external Na+ ions. This Ba2+ "lock-in" effect suggests that at least one of the external binding sites of the KcsA channel is thermodynamically selective for K+. We used molecular dynamics simulations to interpret these lock-in experiments in the context of the crystallographic structure of KcsA. Assuming that the Ba2+ is bound in site S2 in the dominant blocked state, we examine the conditions that could impede its translocation and cause the observed "lock-in" effect.