The Korea Brain Research Institute announced that a team led by principal researcher Lim Hyun-Ho discovered a new 3-D structure and membrane protein mechanism which causes epilepsy and muscle problems. The study results were published in the August issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Neurons control physiological phenomena such as delivery of electrical signals and secretion of signal transduction materials by exchanging chloride (Cl-) ions and hydrogen ions (H+) in the cell membrane. If there is a problem with the CLC transporter protein that is involved in this process, muscle problems, epilepsy, hearing loss and blindness can develop.
The research team led by Dr. Lim Hyun-Ho, succeeded in identifying a new structure of external glutamate residue, which plays a critical role in the ion exchange of single CLC transporter proteins, for the first time in the world.