On August 4, 2016, Prof. JIANG Youxing from UT Southwestern Medical Center/HHMI visited IBP and gave a lecture entitled “Structural Insight into the Extracellular Ion Exchange Mechanism of Na⁺/Ca²⁺ Exchanger” as one of the parts of the special lecture named “BEI Shizhang Lecture” of Institute of Biophysics. The lecture was hosted by Prof. HUANG Yihua.  

Prof. Jiang is an internationally renowned scientist in the field of structure and function of ion channels and transporters. He has made significant contributions in understanding the mechanisms of gating and selectivity of ion channels and transporters.  

Prof. Jiang shared the study of Sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX), one of the most important transporters that remove intracellular Ca²⁺.The exchanger is usually found in the plasma membranes and the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum of excitable cells. Prof. Jiang introduced the unique structure and function of NCX_Mj, a NCX protein from Methanococcus janaschii. NCX uses the energy that is stored in the electrochemical gradient of sodium (Na⁺) by allowing Na⁺ to flow down its gradient across the plasma membrane in exchange for the countertransport of calcium ions (Ca²⁺). The structure and functional studies of NCX_Mj explains who it removes a single calcium ion in exchange for the import of three sodium ions. 

The audience raised many interesting questions on the mechanisms of NCX after the lecture. In addition, Prof. Jiang also shared his experience in pursuing a scientific career with graduate students of IBP.