Conduction mechanism in PIP₂–GIRK2. (A) Left: Cartoon representation of a single Kir3.2 subunit, with key residues shown as sticks. Middle: K⁺ ion movement along the pore axis (z axis) as a function of time, represented by differently colored lines. Right: Ion occupancy, calculated every 0.5 Å along the pore axis. (B) Representative snapshots of an ion traversing the SF of Kir3.2 with the permeating ion colored in dark purple. (C) Cumulative ion flux over simulation time; 12 runs with different simulation conditions included (290 or 580 mV, restrained or unrestrained G-loop); each run is colored differently. (D) PMF^EB derived from the K⁺ occupancy along the pore (unrestrained runs), with black error bars (SD).