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. 2000 Nov;79(5):2526–2534. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(00)76493-9

Desformylgramicidin: a model channel with an extremely high water permeability.

S M Saparov 1, Y N Antonenko 1, R E Koeppe 2nd 1, P Pohl 1
PMCID: PMC1301135  PMID: 11053127

Abstract

The water conductivity of desformylgramicidin exceeds the permeability of gramicidin A by two orders of magnitude. With respect to its single channel hydraulic permeability coefficient of 1.1.10(-12) cm(3) s(-1), desformylgramicidin may serve as a model for extremely permeable aquaporin water channel proteins (AQP4 and AQPZ). This osmotic permeability exceeds the conductivity that is predicted by the theory of single-file transport. It was derived from the concentration distributions of both pore-impermeable and -permeable cations that were simultaneously measured by double barreled microelectrodes in the immediate vicinity of a planar bilayer. From solvent drag experiments, approximately five water molecules were found to be transported by a single-file process along with one ion through the channel. The single channel proton, potassium, and sodium conductivities were determined to be equal to 17 pS (pH 2.5), 7 and 3 pS, respectively. Under any conditions, the desformyl-channel remains at least 10 times longer in its open state than gramicidin A.

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Selected References

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