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Intracellular ATP as the Gating Signal of a K_ATP Channel

Completes the channel: ATP inside the cell closes it, so the channel reports metabolic state as membrane voltage. This is what makes K_ATP channels a plausible coupler between energy status, hormone output and smooth muscle tone — all three mechanism hypotheses route through it.

Questions this Concept answers

Why does such a channel let a cell's membrane voltage report on its metabolic state?

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Cryo-EM Structure of the Pancreatic KATP Channel Gating Mechanism

The pancreatic K_ATP channel is a hetero-octameric complex of four inward-rectifying potassium channel (Kir6.2) subunits forming the pore, surrounded by four sulfonylurea receptor (SUR1) subunits — a…

Intracellular ATP as the Gating Signal of a KATP Channel

Questions this Concept answers

Cryo-EM Structure of the Pancreatic KATP Channel Gating Mechanism

Intracellular ATP as the Gating Signal of a K_ATP Channel