Funding Organization(s): National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Primary Citation of Related Structures:   6UZZ, 6V00, 6V01
PubMed Abstract: 
KCNQ1, also known as Kv7.1, is a voltage-dependent K + channel that regulates gastric acid secretion, salt and glucose homeostasis, and heart rhythm. Its functional properties are regulated in a tissue-specific manner through co-assembly with beta subunits KCNE1-5 ...
KCNQ1, also known as Kv7.1, is a voltage-dependent K + channel that regulates gastric acid secretion, salt and glucose homeostasis, and heart rhythm. Its functional properties are regulated in a tissue-specific manner through co-assembly with beta subunits KCNE1-5. In non-excitable cells, KCNQ1 forms a complex with KCNE3, which suppresses channel closure at negative membrane voltages that otherwise would close it. Pore opening is regulated by the signaling lipid PIP2. Using cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM), we show that KCNE3 tucks its single-membrane-spanning helix against KCNQ1, at a location that appears to lock the voltage sensor in its depolarized conformation. Without PIP2, the pore remains closed. Upon addition, PIP2 occupies a site on KCNQ1 within the inner membrane leaflet, which triggers a large conformational change that leads to dilation of the pore's gate. It is likely that this mechanism of PIP2 activation is conserved among Kv7 channels.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: mackinn@rockefeller.edu.