Conformational states of CFTR associated with channel gating: the role of ATP binding and hydrolysis

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an ATP-binding channel (ABC) transporter and a plasma membrane chloride channel. CFTR is of the traffic ATPase superfamily and chlorine ion channel that seems to need ATP hydrolysis for gating. Investigation of single CFTR chlorine ion channels showed the existence of two open conductance states that are related to each other and to the closed state by an asymmetric cycle of gating events.