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. 2002 Oct;120(4):475–481. doi: 10.1085/jgp.20028657

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Copyright © 2002, The Rockefeller University Press

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Figure 1. — Model of a voltage-activated ion channel. Cartoon of a Kv channel (only three out of the four subunits are shown) in the closed state (A) and the open state (B). S5, S6, and the S5-S6 loop (the P loop) from all four subunits contribute to the pore-forming domain. S1-S4 from each subunit form a voltage-sensing domain. S4 charges move outwards in response to a depolarization, triggering the opening of the activation gate (located at the bundle crossing at the COOH-terminal end of S6). The S4-S5 loop is here suggested as the coupling mechanism between S4 movement and the opening of the activation gate.