Electric field effects on chignolin conformation

The effect of homogeneous and constant external electric fields on the structural stability of chignolin, a typical β-hairpin peptide, has been studied for 10ns using molecular dynamics simulations. The peptide aligns quickly its total dipole moment with the external electric field and then a constant stress is applied on its charged residues. For weaker fields this has mixed effects on the creation, destruction or strength of hydrogen bonds, but ultimately for strong fields chignolin unfolds starting by the separation of the terminal residues. Since the function of proteins is critically linked to their three-dimensional structures, these findings indicate that exposure to external electric fields may induce changes in conformation that can potentially initiate severe cellular dysfunction.

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