Mitochondrial Ion Channel Antibody Explorer Kit

Mitochondria are the main energy producing organelles of the cell. They are comprised of an outer membrane (OMM), an inner membrane (IMM), a space between them and a matrix enclosed within the IMM. Many of the ion channels found in mitochondria are vital for energy supply by the mitochondria for the rest of the cell. Channels are located both in the OMM and IMM.
The most abundant and well-studied OMM ion channel is the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC). This channel has a β-barrel structure composed of 19 β-strands and an NH2-terminal α-helix. In addition to various anions this channel conducts substantial flows of Ca²⁺, ATP and superoxidase. This channel is presumed to be highly regulated and to serve as the main gateway for cellular-mitochondrial “cross-talk”.
Another ion channel observed in the OMM is the Inward rectifying voltage dependent potassium selective ion channel (K_ir). The activity of this channel is regulated by cAMP and osmolarity and is blocked by cesium cations. Interestingly, other classical potassium channel inhibitors do not block the channel.
The IMM contains a large number of potassium channels with different structural and functional properties including Big-conductance, intermediate and small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels. In addition, there are K_V1.3 voltage gated potassium channels which are hypothesized to be similar to plasma membrane K_V1.3 channels in structure but their functional properties remain unclear. Other IMM ion channels are pH-sensitive potassium channels and various calcium, potassium and non-selective cation channels¹.