Mechanism behind heartbeat regulation, heart function uncovered
McKelvey School of Engineering •
The team’s findings suggest CaM and PIP2 facilitate the KCNQ1 cytoplasmic domain to undergo large conformational change during voltage-dependent activation to open the channel, as illustrated by the structural depiction (top left) and cartoon (bottom left) of the channel. This movement may control KCNQ1 current activation speed (blue, bottom right) to help terminate action potential (gray, top right).