The stability and gating motion of the voltage sensor domain (white) of the Kv1.2 ion channel in its natural environment within bilayers (orange) is a hot current research topic. Using extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, a new study by Bjelkmar et al. sheds new light on these phenomena. Upon application of an electrical field, the voltage sensor S4 helix undergoes a secondary structure transition, orienting the positively charged arginine residues (yellow) in a way that seems to "prepare" them for the gating motion (see Bjelkmar et al., doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000289).
Image Credit: Jyrki Hokkanen (The Finnish IT Center for Scientific Computing (CSC)).
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