A flexible GAS belt responds to pore mutations changing the ion selectivity of proton-gated channels

Proton-gated ion channels conduct mainly Na(+) to induce postsynaptic membrane depolarization. Finding the determinants of ion selectivity requires knowledge of the pore structure in the open conformation, but such information is not yet available. Here, the open conformation of the hASIC1a channel was computationally modeled, and functional effects of pore mutations were analyzed in light of the predicted structures. The open pore structure shows two constrictions of similar diameter formed by the backbone of the GAS belt and, right beneath it, by the side chains of H28 from the reentrant loop. Models of nonselective mutant channels, but not those that maintain ion selectivity, predict enlargement of the GAS belt, suggesting that this motif is quite flexible and that the loss of stabilizing interactions in the central pore leads to changes in size/shape of the belt. Our results are consistent with the “close-fit” mechanism governing selectivity of hASIC1a, wherein the backbone of the GAS substitutes at least part of the hydration shell of a permeant ion to enable crossing the pore constriction.