Interaction of the Inhibitory Peptides ShK and HmK with the Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel K1.3: Role of Conformational Dynamics.

Peptide toxins that adopt the ShK fold can inhibit the voltage-gated potassium channel K1.3 with IC values in the pM range and are therefore potential leads for drugs targeting autoimmune and neuroinflammatory diseases. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation measurements and pressure-dependent NMR have shown that, despite being cross-linked by disulfide bonds, ShK itself is flexible in solution.