Fig. 5. Schematic representation of the N-terminal rearrangement of the INX-6 undocked hemichannel in the lipid bilayer environment.

(A) INX-6 hemichannel embedded in phospholipids. Instead of the no-funnel configuration, the NTH is rearranged, and possibly the phospholipids enter the pore. The N terminus might be deflected toward the outside of the channel (dotted lines). (B) INX-6 hemichannel surrounded by detergent micelles. NTHs form a funnel configuration with a wide-open pore. The constriction is formed by the E1 inner lobes but may not be the smallest because more than 10 residues at the N terminus are still disordered.