简介:Ionchannelsareessentialforcellularsignaling.Voltage-gatedionchannels(VGICs)arethelargestandmostextensivelystudiedsuperfamilyofionchannels.Theypossessmodularstructuralfeaturessuchasvoltage-sensingdomainsthatencircleandformmechanicalconnectionswiththepore-formingdomains.Suchfeaturesareintimatelyrelatedtotheirfunctioninsensingandrespondingtochangesinthemembranepotential.Inthepresentwork,wediscussthethermodynamicmechanismsoftheVGICsuperfamily,includingthetwo-stategatingmechanism,sliding-rockingmechanismofthevoltagesensor,subunitcooperation,lipid-infiltrationmechanismofinactivation,andtherelationshipwiththeirstructuralfeatures.