KCNK4

Potassium channel subfamily K member 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KCNK4 gene.

Function

Potassium channels play a role in many cellular processes including maintenance of the action potential, muscle contraction, hormone secretion, osmotic regulation, and ion flow. This gene encodes the K_2P4.1 protein, one of the members of the superfamily of potassium channel proteins containing two pore-forming P domains. K_2P4.1 homodimerizes and functions as an outwardly rectifying channel. It is expressed primarily in neural tissues and is stimulated by membrane stretch and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

KCNK4 protein channels are also called TRAAK channels. TRAAK channels are found in mammalian neurons and are part of a protein family of weakly inward rectifying potassium channels. This subfamily of potassium channels is mechanically gated. The C-terminal of TRAAK has a charged cluster that is important in maintaining the mechanosensitive properties of the channel.

TRAAK is only expressed in neuronal tissue, and can be found in the brain, spinal cord, and retina, which suggests that it has a function beyond mechanotransduction in terms of neuronal excitability. The highest levels of TRAAK expression are in the olfactory system, cerebral cortex, hippocampal formation, habenula, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. TRAAK channels are mechanically activated when there is a convex curvature in the membrane that alters the channel’s activity. TRAAK channels are thought to have a role in axonal pathfinding, growth cone motility, and neurite elongation, as well as possibly having a role in touch or pain detection.

See also

• Tandem pore domain potassium channel

External links

• KCNK4 protein, human at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.