Structural basis for the Mg2+ recognition and regulation of the CorC Mg2+ transporter (Miki Lab, in Science Advances)

The CNNM/CorC family proteins are Mg²⁺ transporters that are widely distributed in all domains of life. In bacteria, CorC has been implicated in the survival of pathogenic microorganisms. In humans, CNNM proteins are involved in various biological events, such as body absorption/reabsorption of Mg²⁺ and genetic disorders.

Here, we determined the crystal structure of the Mg²⁺-bound CorC TM domain dimer. Each protomer possesses a single Mg²⁺ binding site with a fully dehydrated Mg²⁺ ion. The residues at the Mg²⁺ binding site are strictly conserved in both human CNNM2 and CNNM4, and many of these residues are associated with genetic diseases.

Furthermore, we determined the structures of the CorC cytoplasmic region containing its regulatory ATP binding domain. A combination of structural and functional analyses not only revealed the potential interface between the TM and cytoplasmic domains but also showed that ATP binding is important for the Mg²⁺ export activity of CorC.

This article was published in Science Advances on Feb. 10, 2021.

Title: “Structural basis for the Mg²⁺ recognition and regulation of the CorC Mg²⁺ transporter”

Authors: Yichen Huang†, Fei Jin†, Yosuke Funato†, Zhijian Xu, Weiliang Zhu, Jing Wang, Minxuan Sun, Yimeng Zhao, Ye Yu, Hiroaki Miki*, and Motoyuki Hattori* (†equal contribution, *corresponding authors)