The CFTR transporter functions as a:
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator CFTR, ABCC7, is an exceptional ABC protein that functions not as active pump but as cAMP-activated chloride channel gated by ATP. It contains two transmembrane domains each with six helices forming chloride-selective pore, two nucleotide-binding domains, and a unique cytosolic R domain with multiple PKA phosphorylation sites. Channel opening requires R domain phosphorylation by protein kinase A downstream of adenylate cyclase, followed by ATP binding and NBD dimerization stabilizing open state; ATP hydrolysis at NBD2 terminates open burst. In
Ref: Gadsby et al., Nature 2006, CFTR gating cycle; Lodish, Molecular Cell Biology, CFTR chloride channel.