2023 Volume 63 Issue 2 Pages 97-101
Gap junction channels and ATP release channels are called “large pore channels” because these have pore sizes that allow the permeation of various sizes of solutes, from ions to metabolites. We investigated the structures of C. elegans innexin-6 gap junction channels and human pannexin-1 channels with cryo-EM. Using nanodisc reconstitution, we found double-layer densities in the pore and lipid acyl chains in the intersubunit spaces. Together with the molecular dynamics simulation, these studies suggest a lipid gating mechanism for large pore channels in that phospholipids are diffused to the pore for channel closure.
