image: The cartoon figure shows the NCX_Mj protein embedded in the membrane with outward-facing configuration (left) for Na+ binding and Ca2+ release, and inward-facing configuration (right) for Ca2+ binding and Na+ release. Na+ (green spheres) and Ca2+ (red spheres) ions have higher concentrations extra-cellularly and lower concentrations in the cytosol. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Feb. 10, 2012, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by J. Liao at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues was titled, "Structural Insight into the Ion-Exchange Mechanism of the Sodium/Calcium Exchanger." view more
Credit: [Image © <i>Science</i>/AAAS]