Figure 1. Kv channels contain a central pore domain and four peripheral voltage-sensing domains.

(a) Extracellular view of the tetrameric Kv1.2/2.1 paddle chimaera (Kvchim)4. The helices of one monomer are coloured and labelled. (b) Membrane and intracellular views of Kvchim (open) and KcsA (closed)2, respectively. The pore domains are coloured white and the inner helices are coloured red. (c) Schematic illustration of how the channel closes and opens with the average motions suggested by our simulations labelled.