Inside the human body, countless microscopic processes keep us alive and functioning.
Fluids move, gases are exchanged, and charged particles flow in and out of cells to maintain balance.
One of the most important of these processes involves chloride ions, which help control electrical activity in the body.
A new study from researchers at Northeastern University has uncovered how a mysterious protein helps regulate this flow—offering clues that could lead to new treatments for several diseases.
The protein, known as TMEM16A, is found in many tissues throughout the body. It sits in the membrane that surrounds each cell and acts like a gatekeeper, controlling when charged particles pass through.
These movements create the electrical signals that allow the brain to think, the heart to beat, and muscles to contract.
When TMEM16A does not work properly, serious health problems can arise. In blood vessels, malfunctioning TMEM16A may contribute to high blood pressure.
In the lungs, it has been linked to conditions such as asthma and cystic fibrosis. Despite its importance, scientists have struggled for years to understand exactly how the protein opens and closes its channel.
In the new research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists combined computer modeling with experiments on living cells to solve the mystery.
They first built a detailed three-dimensional model of TMEM16A and simulated the conditions it experiences inside the body, such as temperature and pressure. This allowed them to watch how the protein behaves and how chloride ions move through it.
The team then used a specialized laser microscope to observe the protein directly in living cells. By comparing the experimental results with the computer simulations, they discovered that TMEM16A works together with another molecule inside the cell membrane called PIP2.
When TMEM16A interacts with PIP2, it changes shape and opens a tiny pore in the cell membrane—almost like a straw piercing a surface—allowing chloride ions to pass in and out.
This breakthrough fills a major gap in scientists’ understanding of how the protein is activated. Knowing exactly how TMEM16A functions could help researchers design drugs that target it more precisely. Such treatments might eventually help people with conditions caused by ion imbalance, including hypertension, asthma, and other disorders.
Although practical therapies are still some distance away, the discovery provides an important foundation for future medical advances. Researchers can now use the same computer-based approach to test how potential drugs might interact with the protein before moving on to laboratory experiments.
The study highlights how modern technology is allowing scientists to explore the hidden machinery inside our cells with unprecedented detail.
By revealing how TMEM16A punctures the cell membrane to control ion flow, the research brings us closer to understanding the electrical language that keeps the body running—and how to fix it when things go wrong.
