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. 1995 Dec;69(6):2415–2418. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(95)80111-6

A random flight chain model for the tether of the Shaker K+ channel inactivation domain.

L C Timpe 1, L Peller 1
PMCID: PMC1236479  PMID: 8599648

Abstract

Rapid inactivation of Shaker K+ channels occurs when a domain in the amino terminal region of the channel protein blocks the pore. Some part of the sequence between the inactivating domain and the first transmembrane segment may form a flexible tether. We consider the possibility that the tether has no secondary structure, but is rather a polypeptide random coil. The local concentration of the tethered inactivation domain and the dependence of the inactivation rate on chain length can then be calculated by using the Jacobson-Stockmayer equation. A chain of 30-100 amino acids is consistent with the sensitivity of the inactivation rate to chain length mutations.

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Selected References

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