Pulsed Electric Fields Can Create Pores in the Voltage Sensors of Voltage-Gated Ion Channels.

ABSTRACT: Pulsed electric fields are increasingly used in medicine to transiently increase the cell membrane permeability via electroporation to deliver therapeutic molecules into the cell. One type of event that contributes to this increase in membrane permeability is the formation of pores in the membrane lipid bilayer. However, electrophysiological measurements suggest that membrane proteins are affected as well, particularly voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs). The molecular mechanisms by which the electric field could affects these molecules remain unidentified. In this study, we used molecular dynamics simulations to unravel the molecular events that take place in different VGICs when exposing them to electric fields mimicking electroporation conditions. We show that electric fields can induce

SUBMITTER: Rems L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7335976 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature