Molecular Dynamics Investigation of TRPV4 under Static and 3.5 GHz RF Electromagnetic Fields

The widespread deployment of fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication systems has renewed interest in the investigation of possible biological effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs), particularly within Frequency Range 1 (FR1), where the 3.5 GHz band is widely used. At the molecular scale, understanding how electromagnetic fields may couple to biomolecular structures remains an open question, especially at the protein and membrane level. In this study, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate the response of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) ion channel embedded in a hydrated lipid bilayer under three conditions: absence of applied fields, exposure to a static electric field, and exposure to a 3.5 GHz RF-EMF. Global structural and hydration-related observables were analyzed. The results indicate that TRPV4 preserves its overall structural integrity and compactness across all conditions, while small differences in the statistical distributions of the considered observables suggest condition-dependent modulations of conformational and hydration dynamics rather than global structural destabilization. These findings highlight molecular dynamics simulations as a suitable in silico approach for investigating subtle RF-EMF-induced effects on membrane ion channels at the atomic scale.