Assembly and stability of human voltage-gated potassium channels

Kv11.1电压门控钾通道是心脏功能的重要调节器，也是制药行业的一个问题，因为它在药物结合方面存在混乱。该项目旨在研究Kv11.1通道如何折叠和组装成四聚体，以及是什么使它们在细胞膜上稳定。借鉴从G蛋白偶联受体结构分析中获得的见解，该项目打算应用一种新的蛋白质稳定策略来促进Kv11.1通道的结构分析。该项目的成功完成可能会揭示这些分子机器如何工作的重要见解，并使药物如何与这些通道相互作用和结合的原子水平研究成为可能。

The Kv11.1 voltage-gated potassium channel is an important regulator of cardiac function and a problem for the pharmaceutical industry due to its promiscuity with respect to drug binding. This project aims to investigate how Kv11.1 channels fold and assemble into tetramers and what stabilizes them in the cell membrane. Borrowing from insights gained from the structural analysis of G-Protein coupled receptors, the project intends to apply a novel protein stabilization strategy to facilitate the structural analysis of Kv11.1 channels. The successful completion of the project could reveal important insights into how these molecular machines work as well as enable atomic level studies of how drugs interact and bind to these channels.