What question did this study set out to answer?

To isolate and characterize a human inwardly rectifying potassium channel from the hippocampus.

June 21, 1994Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences140 citationsOpen Access

Primary structure and characterization of a small-conductance inwardly rectifying potassium channel from human hippocampus.

FPFrançois Périer CRCarolyn M. Radeke CVC A Vandenberg

Key Points

To isolate and characterize a human inwardly rectifying potassium channel from the hippocampus.
Isolated cDNA encoding the channel termed HIR.
Conducted single-channel recordings to measure conductance.
Performed RNA blot analyses to detect HIR transcripts in various tissues.
The HIR channel displayed an unusually small conductance of 13 pS.
HIR transcripts were found in heart, skeletal muscle, and multiple brain regions including the hippocampus.

Abstract

We have isolated a human hippocampus cDNA that encodes an inwardly rectifying potassium channel, termed HIR (hippocampal inward rectifier), with strong rectification characteristics. Single-channel recordings indicate that the HIR channel has an unusually small conductance (13 pS), distinguishing HIR from other cloned inward rectifiers. RNA blot analyses show that HIR transcripts are present in heart, skeletal muscle, and several different brain regions, including the hippocampus.

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