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Nobel Prize-Winning Team Provides Empirical Proof: Core Predictions of Sun Zuodong’s Origami Windmill Model Validated by Authoritative Researc

发布时间：

2026-06-05

In May 2025, the research team led by Roderick MacKinnon, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, published findings on the cryo-electron microscopy analysis of human Kv2.1 potassium channels in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). The study pinpointed the precise molecular mechanism underlying channel gating at atomic resolution. A landmark achievement in ion channel research, the work conclusively demonstrates that voltage-gating relies on the accurate displacement of the S4 helix within voltage sensors; coordinated interactions among four subunits trigger the constriction and opening/closing of the channel pore, laying a solid structural foundation for decoding how ion channels operate.

A pioneer of this discipline, Academician MacKinnon put forward the selective filter and paddle model in his early career, laying pivotal groundwork for structural research on ion channels with far-reaching academic impacts. His team’s latest research further elaborates on the lever-style coupling mechanism linking voltage sensors to the channel pore and defines the quantitative rule of full coordination across four subunits, marking a major advancement in unpacking the mechanisms of ion channel gating.

Back in October 2019, Researcher Sun Zuodong published his origami windmill model of potassium channels in the Journal of US-China Medical Science. From a theoretical perspective, he pioneered the proposition that potassium channel gating hinges on coordinated, holistic movement of tetrameric subunits, systematically illustrating dynamic shifts in pore diameter via the metaphor of a spinning windmill. Lacking direct structural experimental evidence at the time, this proposition stood as a forward-looking theoretical deduction grounded in physical logic.

Side-by-side comparison reveals striking consistency between the origami windmill model and MacKinnon’s latest experimental findings regarding the coordinated motion of four subunits at the macro level. While Sun’s work centers on establishing a theoretical framework aided by dynamic analogies and MacKinnon’s research focuses on atomic-level structural verification and detailed mechanistic characterization, the two differ in research dimension and descriptive methodology yet converge crucially on the core conclusion of coordinated gating.

Scientific advancement is perpetually driven by the interplay between theoretical prediction and experimental validation. Having forecasted the core trait of coordinated ion channel movement six years in advance and seen its core direction corroborated by world-leading experimental research bears ample testimony to the scientific merit and forward-thinking insight of the origami windmill model. The convergence of these domestic and overseas research outcomes also offers valuable insights to advance fundamental studies into ion channels and neuroscience.（By AiLi）