Ion channels display conformational changes in response to binding of their agonists and antagonists. The study of the relationships between the structure and the function of these proteins has witnessed considerable advances in the last two decades using a combination of techniques, which include electrophysiology, optical approaches (i.e. patch clamp fluorometry, incorporation of non-canonic amino acids, etc.), molecular biology (mutations in different regions of ion channels to determine their role in function) and those that have permitted the resolution of their structures in detail (X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy). The possibility of making correlations among structural components and functional traits in ion channels has allowed for more refined conclusions on how these proteins work at the molecular level. With the cloning and description of the family of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels, our understanding of several sensory-related processes has also greatly moved forward. The response of these proteins to several agonists, their regulation by signaling pathways as well as by protein-protein and lipid-protein interactions and, in some cases, their biophysical characteristics have been studied thoroughly and, recently, with the resolution of their structures, the field has experienced a new boom. This review article focuses on the conformational changes in the pores, concentrating on some members of the TRP family of ion channels (TRPV and TRPA subfamilies) that result in changes in their single-channel conductances, a phenomenon that may lead to fine-tuning the electrical response to a given agonist in a cell.

离子通道响应其激动剂和拮抗剂的结合而显示构象变化。这些蛋白质的结构和功能之间的关系的研究在过去的二十年中已经证明了结合使用多种技术的大量进展，这些技术包括电生理学，光学方法（即膜片钳荧光法，掺入非典型氨基酸等）。 ），分子生物学（在离子通道不同区域的突变，以确定它们在功能中的作用）以及已允许详细解析其结构的分子生物学（X射线晶体学和低温电子显微镜）。在离子通道的结构成分和功能性状之间建立关联的可能性允许对这些蛋白质如何在分子水平上起作用做出更精确的结论。随着对瞬时受体电位（TRP）通道家族的克隆和描述，我们对几种与感觉相关的过程的理解也得到了极大的发展。这些蛋白质对几种激动剂的反应，其通过信号传导途径的调控以及蛋白质-蛋白质和脂质-蛋白质相互作用的调节，在某些情况下，还对它们的生物物理特性进行了彻底的研究，最近，随着结构的解析，该领域经历了新的繁荣。本文将重点介绍孔的构象变化，着重介绍TRP离子通道家族的某些成员（TRPV和TRPA亚家族），这些成员会导致其单通道电导率发生变化，这种现象可能导致微通道的微调。对细胞中给定激动剂的电响应。