team takes high resolution photo of a K+ channel
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - 12:35
in Biology & Nature
Using chemical labeling and mass spectrometry-based techniques, Mark Chance, PhD, director of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics and professor of physiology and biophysics; Sayan Gupta, PhD, instructor at the Case Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics; and a research team from the University of Oxford, for the first time, were able to take a high resolution picture of the open state of a K+ channel, allowing them to comparatively analyze gating mechanisms important to heart function and nerve signaling - in addition these techniques have already permitted Case Western investigators to gain a deeper understanding of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).