Cryo-electron microscopy structures and molecular dynamics simulations of the calcium-activated potassium channel MthK from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum are used to show that gating of this channel involves a ball-and-chain inactivation mechanism mediated by a previously unresolved N-terminal peptide.
Inactivation is the process by which ion channels terminate ion flux through their pores while the opening stimulus is still present(1). In neurons, inactivation of both sodium and potassium channels is crucial for the generation of action potentials and regulation of firing frequency(1,2). A cytoplasmic domain of either the channel or an accessory subunit is thought to plug the open pore to inactivate the channel via a '
