E-protein ion channel activity

The COVID-19 E-protein is a short and integral membrane protein that contains 76-109 amino acids, size ranging between 8.4 and 12 kDa, consist of 35 α-helices and 40 loops. The protein has short hydrophilic amino terminus consisting of 7-12 amino acids, followed by a large hydrophobic transmembrane domain of 25 amino acids long hydrophilic C-terminal domain. The hydrophobic region can generate oligomerization and form an ion-conductive pore in membranes, it plays a significant role in the assembly of the viral genome.