KCNK4

This gene encodes a member of the TWIK-related arachidonic acid-stimulated two pore potassium channel subfamily. The encoded protein homodimerizes and functions as an outwardly rectifying channel. This channel is regulated by polyunsaturated fatty acids, temperature and mechanical deformation of the lipid membrane. This protein is expressed primarily in neural tissues and may be involved in regulating the noxious input threshold in dorsal root ganglia neurons. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. Naturally occurring read-through transcripts also exist between this gene and the downstream testis expressed 40 (TEX40) gene, as represented in GeneID: 106780802.