Integrative Approach for Computationally Inferring Interactions between the Alpha and Beta Subunits of the Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel (BK): a Docking Study.

Three-dimensional models of the alpha- and beta-1 subunits of the calcium-activated potassium channel (BK) were predicted by threading modeling. A recursive approach comprising of sequence alignment and model building based on three templates was used to build these models, with the refinement of non-conserved regions carried out using threading techniques. The complex formed by the subunits was studied by means of docking techniques, using 3D models of the two subunits, and an approach based on rigid-body structures.