KCNK6 Antibody #92295

Potassium channels are protein complexes that form potassium ion (K⁺)-selective pores allowing the passive transport of K⁺ through biological membranes. They regulate K⁺ homeostasis and cell volume, and also have physiological functions involved in neurotransmitter and hormone secretion and muscular and neuronal excitability. Many potassium channel proteins have been identified and classified into different groups, mainly based on their membrane topology. The KCNK subfamily (Potassium channel subfamily K) is characterized by the presence of four transmembrane segments (4TMS) and the two-pore (2P) domain (4TMS/2P). These two-pore domain K⁺ (K2p) channels are considered as leaky channels that maintain background K⁺ currents to stabilize the negative membrane potential and counterbalance depolarization (1-4).

KCNK6, also known as TWIK-2, is expressed in all human tissues examined except the skeletal muscle (5). A recent study identified KCNK6 as the K⁺ channel mediating K⁺ efflux across the plasma membrane that is essential for NLRP3 inflammasome activation (6).