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Selectivity Mechanism Of The Voltage-Gated Proton Channel, Hv1, Todor Dudev, Boris Musset, Deri Morgan, Susan M. Smith

Faculty and Research Publications

Abstract• Introduction• Results• Discussion• Methods• Additional Information• References• Acknowledgements• Author information• Supplementary information Voltage-gated proton channels, HV1, trigger bioluminescence in dinoflagellates, enable calcification in coccolithophores, and play multifarious roles in human health. Because the proton concentration is minuscule, exquisite selectivity for protons over other ions is critical to HV1 function. The selectivity of the open HV1 channel requires an aspartate near an arginine in the selectivity filter (SF), a narrow region that dictates proton selectivity, but the mechanism of proton selectivity is unknown. Here we use a reduced quantum model to elucidate how the Asp–Arg SF selects protons but excludes …