The study identifies and characterizes a novel human inward rectifier potassium channel (hIRK2) expressed exclusively in the brain and heart.
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hIRK2 may modulate cardiac and neuronal excitability; leaves open its role in human disease pending mammalian validation.
We have cloned a novel inward rectifier K+ channel (hIRK2) from a human frontal cortex cDNA library. The amino acid sequence of hIRK2 shares 60% and 40% identity with the mouse IRK1 and the rat ROMK1 channels, respectively. Xenopus oocytes injected with hIRK2 cRNA showed an inwardly rectifying K+ current that had a prominent 'N-shape' I-V curve and was blocked by extracellular Ba2+. The hIRK2 channel has two unique features: (a) an 18 amino acid insertion between the first transmembrane region and the pore, and (b) restricted mRNA distribution found only in human brain and heart.
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Tang et al. (1994) studied this question.
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