Identification of the ligand-binding pocket in a class of peptide-gated ion channels published in PNAS

Hydra Na⁺ channels (HyNaCs) are a group of peptide-gated ion channels that are closely related to Acid-Sensing Ion Channels (ASICs). In our latest study, which has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2409097121), we have identified the peptide-binding pocket in HyNaCs. The project was pursued in close collaboration with Simone Albani and Giulia Rossetti of Research Center Jülich. Interestingly, the binding pocket is conserved in ASICs, but not in another group of peptide-gated ion channels. Our results show that peptide-gating evolved at least twice independently during evolution and identifies a conserved ligand-binding pocket in HyNaC/ASIC ion channels.