title: KCNE2 and the K (+) channel: the tail wagging the dog.
abstract: KCNE2, originally designated MinK-related peptide 1 (MiRP1), belongs to a five-strong family of potassium channel ancillary (β) subunits that, despite the diminutive size of the family and its members, has loomed large in the field of ion channel physiology. KCNE2 dictates K (+) channel gating, conductance, α subunit composition, trafficking and pharmacology, and also modifies functional properties of monovalent cation-nonselective HCN channels. The Kcne2 (-/-) mouse exhibits cardiac arrhythmia and hypertrophy, achlorhydria, gastric neoplasia, hypothyroidism, alopecia, stunted growth and choroid plexus epithelial dysfunction, illustrating the breadth and depth of the influence of KCNE2, mutations which are also associated with human cardiac arrhythmias. Here, the modus operandi and physiological roles of this potent regulator of membrane excitability and ion secretion are reviewed with particular emphasis on the ability of KCNE2 to shape the electrophysiological landscape of both excitable and non-excitable cells.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pharmacology and Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. abbottg@uci.edu
authors.forename: Geoffrey W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Abbott
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002831:Choroid Plexus / Q000166:cytology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D005744:Gastric Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010295:Parietal Cells, Gastric / Q000378:metabolism; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated / Q000502:physiology*; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000502:physiology; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C489619:KCNE2 protein, human; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D021122:Protein Subunits; D013963:Thyroid Hormones