Biophysical Journal 51: 297-311 (1987)
© 1987 the Biophysical Society

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How pore mouth charge distributions alter the permeability of transmembrane ionic channels.

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the effects that surface dipole layers and surface charge layers along the pore mouth-water interface can have on the electrical properties of a transmembrane channel. Three specific molecular sources are considered: dipole layers formed by membrane phospholipids, dipole layers lining the mouth of a channel-forming protein, and charged groups in the mouth of a channel-forming protein. We find, consistent with previous work, that changing the lipid-water potential difference only influences channel conduction if the rate-limiting step takes place well inside the channel constriction. We find that either mouth dipoles or mouth charges can act as powerful ion attractors increasing either cation or anion concentration near the channel entrance to many times its bulk value, especially at low ionic strengths. The effects are sufficient to reconcile the apparently contradictory properties of high selectivity and high conductivity, observed for a number of K+ channel systems. We find that localizing the electrical sources closer to the constriction entrance substantially increases their effectiveness as ion attractors; this phenomenon is especially marked for dipolar distributions. An approximate treatment of electrolyte shielding is used to discriminate between the various mechanisms for increasing ionic concentration near the constriction entrance. Dipolar potentials are far less sensitive to ionic strength variation than potentials due to fixed charges. We suggest that the K+ channel from sarcoplasmic reticulum does not have a fixed negative charge near the constriction entrance; we suggest further that the Ca+2-activated K+ channel from transverse tubule does have such a charge.

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