Description | Small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (SK channels) are independent of voltage and gated solely by intracellular Ca2+. These membrane channels are heteromeric complexes that comprise pore-forming alpha-subunits and the Ca2+-binding protein calmodulin (CaM) [ ]. CaM binds to the SK channel through this the CaM-binding domain (CaMBD), which is located in an intracellular region of the alpha-subunit immediately carboxy-terminal to the pore. Channel opening is triggered when Ca2+ binds the EF hands in the N-lobe ofCaM. The structure of this domain complexed with CaM is known [ ]. This domain forms an elongated dimer with a CaM molecule bound at each end; each CaM wraps around three α-helices, two from one CaMBD subunit and one from the other. | Name | SK, calmodulin-binding domain superfamily |
Short Name | CaM-bd_dom_sf | Type | Homologous_superfamily |