A plausible model

B.S. Rothberg and associate and Horrigan and associates both conducted experiments to study the mechanism of BK channel gating. They took very different approaches but arrived at compatible conclusions. While Rothberg et al examined in detail the gating of single BK channels under a limited range of conditions, Horrigan et al investigated macroscopic ionic and gating currents over a wide voltage range but in the effective absence of (Ca2+). Clearly, their goals were different, which explains why their models are based on what is known about channel structure.