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KCNJ2
The Kir2.1 inward-rectifier potassium channel is a lipid-gated ion channel encoded by the gene. Clinical significance A defect in this gene is associated with Andersen-Tawil syndrome. A mutation in the KCNJ2 gene has also been shown to cause short QT syndrome. In research In neurogenetics, Kir2.1 is used in ''Drosophila'' research to inhibit neurons, as overexpression of this channel will hyperpolarize cells. In optogenetics, a trafficking sequence from Kir2.1 has been added to halorhodopsin to improve its membrane localization. The resulting protein eNpHR3.0 is used in optogenetic research to inhibit neurons with light. Expression of Kir2.1 gene in human HEK293 cells induce a transient outward current, creating a steady membrane potential close to the reversal potential of potassium. Interactions Kir2.1 has been shown to interact with: * DLG4, * Interleukin 16 Interleukin 16 is a pro-inflammatory pleiotropic cytokine. It's precursor, pro-interleukin-16 is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inward-rectifier Potassium Channel Inward-rectifier potassium channels (Kir, IRK) are a specific Lipid-gated_ion_channels, lipid-gated subset of potassium channels. To date, seven subfamilies have been identified in various mammalian cell types, plants, and bacteria. They are activated by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, PIP2). The malfunction of the channels has been implicated in several diseases. IRK channels possess a pore domain, homologous to that of voltage-gated ion channels, and flanking transmembrane domain, transmembrane segments (TMSs). They may exist in the membrane as homo- or heterooligomers and each monomer possesses between 2 and 4 TMSs. In terms of function, these proteins transport potassium, potassium (K+), with a greater tendency for K+ uptake than K+ export. The process of inward-rectification was discovered by Denis Noble in cardiac muscle cells in 1960s and by Richard Adrian, 2nd Baron Adrian, Richard Adrian and Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Alan Hodgkin in ... [...More Info...] |