The two-pore-domain or tandem pore domain potassium channels are a family of 15 members that form what is known as leak channels which possess Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz (open) rectifier. These channels are regulated by several mechanisms including signaling lipids, oxygen tension, pH, mechanical stretch, and . Two-pore-domain potassium channels correspond structurally to a inward-rectifier potassium channel α-subunits. Each inward-rectifier potassium channel α-subunit is composed of two transmembrane α-helices, a pore helix and a potassium ion selectivity filter sequence and assembles into a tetramer forming the complete channel. The two-pore domain potassium channels instead are Protein dimer where each subunit is essentially two α-subunits joined together.
Each single channel does not have two pores; the name of the channel comes from the fact that each subunit has two P (pore) domains in its primary sequence. To quote Rang and Dale (2015), "The nomenclature is misleading, especially when they are incorrectly referred to as two-pore channels".
A decrease in these leak channels activity is known as 'channel arrest', which reduces oxygen consumption and allows animals to survive anoxia.
Below is a list of the 15 known two-pore-domain human potassium channels:
Aliases | |
TWIK-1 | |
TREK-1 | |
TASK-1 | |
TRAAK | |
TASK-2 | |
TWIK-2 | |
TASK-3 | |
TREK-2 | |
THIK-2 | |
THIK-1 | |
TASK-5 | |
TALK-1 | |
TALK-2, TASK-4 | |
TRIK, TRESK |
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