Recent Advances in the Structural Biology of Mg2+ Channels and Transporters

Fei Jin; Yichen Huang; Motoyuki Hattori

doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167729

Recent Advances in the Structural Biology of Mg²⁺ Channels and Transporters

J Mol Biol. 2022 Oct 15;434(19):167729. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167729. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

Authors

Fei Jin¹, Yichen Huang¹, Motoyuki Hattori²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bioactive Small Molecules, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bioactive Small Molecules, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China. Electronic address: hattorim@fudan.edu.cn.

PMID: 35841930
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167729

Abstract

Magnesium ions (Mg²⁺) are the most abundant divalent cations in living organisms and are essential for various physiological processes, including ATP utilization and the catalytic activity of numerous enzymes. Therefore, the homeostatic mechanisms associated with cellular Mg²⁺ are crucial for both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms and are thus strictly controlled by Mg²⁺ channels and transporters. Technological advances in structural biology, such as the expression screening of membrane proteins, in meso phase crystallization, and recent cryo-EM techniques, have enabled the structure determination of numerous Mg²⁺ channels and transporters. In this review article, we provide an overview of the families of Mg²⁺ channels and transporters (MgtE/SLC41, TRPM6/7, CorA/Mrs2, CorC/CNNM), and discuss the structural biology prospects based on the known structures of MgtE, TRPM7, CorA and CorC.

Keywords: channels; homeostasis; magnesium; structural biology; transporters.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adenosine Triphosphate
Cations, Divalent / chemistry
Magnesium* / chemistry
TRPM Cation Channels* / chemistry

Substances

Cations, Divalent
TRPM Cation Channels
Adenosine Triphosphate
Magnesium