KCNK6

gene
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Also known as K2p6.1TWIK-2

Summary

KCNK6 (potassium two pore domain channel subfamily K member 6, HGNC:6281) is a protein-coding gene on chromosome 19q13.2, encoding Potassium channel subfamily K member 6 (Q9Y257). K(+) channel that conducts outward rectifying currents at the membranes of the endolysosomal system.

This gene encodes one of the members of the superfamily of potassium channel proteins containing two pore-forming P domains. This channel protein, considered an open rectifier, is widely expressed. It is stimulated by arachidonic acid, and inhibited by internal acidification and volatile anaesthetics.

Source: NCBI Gene 9424 — RefSeq curated summary.

At a glance

  • Clinical variants (ClinVar): 80 total
  • MANE Select transcript: NM_004823

Identifiers

Gene identifiers

FieldValue
HGNC IDHGNC:6281
Approved symbolKCNK6
Namepotassium two pore domain channel subfamily K member 6
Location19q13.2
Locus typegene with protein product
StatusApproved
AliasesK2p6.1, TWIK-2
Ensembl geneENSG00000099337
Ensembl biotypeprotein_coding
OMIM603939
Entrez9424

Gene structure

Transcript identifiers

Ensembl transcripts: 4 — 3 protein_coding, 1 protein_coding_CDS_not_defined

ENST00000263372, ENST00000588137, ENST00000884216, ENST00000963801

RefSeq mRNA: 1 — MANE Select: NM_004823 NM_004823

CCDS: CCDS12513

Canonical transcript exons

ENST00000263372 — 3 exons

ExonStartEnd
ENSE000006483903832659338326988
ENSE000008927853832718038332076
ENSE000008927863831984538320272

Expression profiles

Bgee: expression breadth ubiquitous, 205 present calls, max score 92.18.

FANTOM5 (CAGE): breadth ubiquitous, TPM avg 7.0220 / max 95.6933, expressed in 1420 samples.

FANTOM5 promoters (1 alternative TSS)

Promoter IDTPM avgSamples expressed
1756137.02201420

Top tissues by expression

245 total, by Bgee expression score (0-100, higher = more expressed):

TissueAnatomy IDExpression scoreQuality
lower esophagus mucosaUBERON:003583492.18gold quality
deciduaUBERON:000245090.24gold quality
ectocervixUBERON:001224989.23gold quality
esophagus mucosaUBERON:000246988.91gold quality
monocyteCL:000057687.61gold quality
right coronary arteryUBERON:000162587.28gold quality
leukocyteCL:000073887.24gold quality
ascending aortaUBERON:000149686.59gold quality
thoracic aortaUBERON:000151586.37gold quality
uterine cervixUBERON:000000285.05gold quality
myometriumUBERON:000129685.00gold quality
mucosa of transverse colonUBERON:000499184.84gold quality
vaginaUBERON:000099684.77gold quality
smooth muscle tissueUBERON:000113584.74gold quality
parotid glandUBERON:000183184.42silver quality
buccal mucosa cellCL:000233684.40gold quality
skin of legUBERON:000151184.32gold quality
left coronary arteryUBERON:000162684.28gold quality
body of uterusUBERON:000985384.16gold quality
skin of abdomenUBERON:000141684.15gold quality
oral cavityUBERON:000016784.01gold quality
endocervixUBERON:000045883.88gold quality
gingival epitheliumUBERON:000194983.67gold quality
coronary arteryUBERON:000162183.61gold quality
gingivaUBERON:000182883.34gold quality
muscle layer of sigmoid colonUBERON:003580583.31gold quality
mouth mucosaUBERON:000372983.28gold quality
zone of skinUBERON:000001483.21gold quality
minor salivary glandUBERON:000183083.07gold quality
saliva-secreting glandUBERON:000104482.86gold quality

Single-cell (SCXA)

Detected in 6 experiment(s), a significant marker in 4.

ExperimentMarker?Max mean expression
E-MTAB-8060yes98.75
E-HCAD-9yes15.17
E-ANND-3yes11.73
E-MTAB-6678yes7.48
E-ENAD-27no3.79
E-MTAB-5061no2.14

Regulation

Is transcription factor: no

miRNA regulators (miRDB)

52 targeting KCNK6, top 30 by miRDB confidence (max_score; target_count = how many genes the miRNA targets in total — lower means more specific):

miRNAMax scoreAvg scoremiRNA target_count
HSA-MIR-6873-3P100.0071.422626
HSA-MIR-7110-3P100.0073.182486
HSA-MIR-6833-3P100.0070.633197
HSA-MIR-4768-5P100.0069.492861
HSA-MIR-3667-3P99.9967.171636
HSA-MIR-3605-5P99.9667.12932
HSA-MIR-128-3P99.9571.172484
HSA-MIR-216A-3P99.9571.192505
HSA-MIR-6772-5P99.9467.01577
HSA-MIR-651-3P99.9473.485177
HSA-MIR-6809-3P99.9171.453814
HSA-MIR-4753-3P99.9071.033786
HSA-MIR-4731-5P99.8967.232537
HSA-MIR-449699.8868.892236
HSA-MIR-3681-3P99.8870.462254
HSA-MIR-391999.8769.452489
HSA-MIR-5003-3P99.8569.292517
HSA-MIR-130B-5P99.8368.501888
HSA-MIR-4760-5P99.8069.881619
HSA-MIR-6817-3P99.7968.352126
HSA-MIR-204-5P99.7971.622439
HSA-MIR-211-5P99.7971.652440
HSA-MIR-806199.6369.441411
HSA-MIR-426199.5970.303415
HSA-MIR-468899.4864.68828
HSA-MIR-766-3P99.4765.241811
HSA-MIR-147B-5P99.4570.622432
HSA-MIR-425199.4069.193363
HSA-MIR-4685-5P99.2565.991563
HSA-MIR-6837-5P99.2565.471632

Literature-anchored findings (GeneRIF, showing 2)

  • Identification and characterization of Kcnk6 expression within the mammalian cochlea established the gene as a functional candidate for DFNA4. (PMID:14689445)
  • Potassium channels, in particular K2P channels, are expressed and functional in the apical membrane of airway epithelial cells (PMID:21964404)

Cross-species orthologs

15 orthologs

OrganismSymbolGene ID
danio_reriokcnk6ENSDARG00000007383
mus_musculusKcnk6ENSMUSG00000046410
drosophila_melanogasterOrk1FBGN0017561
drosophila_melanogasterTask7FBGN0037690
drosophila_melanogasterTask6FBGN0038165
drosophila_melanogasterCG10864FBGN0038621
drosophila_melanogasterCG42340FBGN0259242
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006661
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006674
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006675
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006679
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006685
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006686
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006695
caenorhabditis_elegansWBGENE00006696

Paralogs (14): KCNK2 (ENSG00000082482), KCNK16 (ENSG00000095981), KCNK10 (ENSG00000100433), KCNK15 (ENSG00000124249), KCNK17 (ENSG00000124780), KCNK1 (ENSG00000135750), KCNK13 (ENSG00000152315), KCNK5 (ENSG00000164626), KCNK9 (ENSG00000169427), KCNK3 (ENSG00000171303), KCNK7 (ENSG00000173338), KCNK4 (ENSG00000182450), KCNK12 (ENSG00000184261), KCNK18 (ENSG00000186795)

Protein

Protein identifiers

Potassium channel subfamily K member 6Q9Y257 (reviewed: Q9Y257)

Alternative names: Inward rectifying potassium channel protein TWIK-2, TWIK-originated similarity sequence

All UniProt accessions (2): Q9Y257, B2RDS2

UniProt curated annotations — full annotation on UniProt →

Function. K(+) channel that conducts outward rectifying currents at the membranes of the endolysosomal system. Active in lysosomes where it regulates lysosome numbers and size. In macrophages, enables K(+) efflux coupled to ATP-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation upon bacterial infection. Cooperates with ATP-gated P2RX7 channels to activate NLRP3 inflammasome, with P2RX7 conducting Ca(2+) and Na(+) influx that sets the membrane potential for K(+) efflux. Does not display channel activity.

Subunit / interactions. Homodimer; disulfide-linked.

Subcellular location. Late endosome membrane. Lysosome membrane.

Tissue specificity. Widespread expression, detected in all tissues tested except for skeletal muscle. Strongest expression in placenta, pancreas, heart, colon and spleen, lower levels detected in peripheral blood leukocytes, lung, liver, kidney and thymus. Lowest expression detected in brain.

Post-translational modifications. N-glycosylation is necessary for targeting to lysosomes.

Domain organisation. Each subunit contributes two pore-forming domains 1 and 2 which assemble to form a single pore with M2 and M4 transmembrane helices lining the central cavity and M1 and M3 facing the lipid bilayer. The transmembrane helices are bridged by the selectivity filters 1 and 2 that coordinate the permeant ions. Up to four ions can simultaneously occupy the selectivity filter and at least two elementary charges must translocate across the filter to convert it into the open conformation.

Similarity. Belongs to the two pore domain potassium channel (TC 1.A.1.8) family.

Isoforms (2)

UniProt IDNamesCanonical?
Q9Y257-11yes
Q9Y257-22

RefSeq proteins (1): NP_004814* (*=MANE)

Domains & families (InterPro)

IDNameType
IPR0030922pore_dom_K_chnl_TASKFamily
IPR0032802pore_dom_K_chnlFamily
IPR0054082pore_dom_K_chnl_TWIKFamily
IPR0054092pore_dom_K_chnl_TWIK2Family
IPR013099K_chnl_domDomain

Pfam: PF07885

Catalyzed reactions (Rhea), 1 shown:

  • K(+)(in) = K(+)(out) (RHEA:29463)

UniProt features (40 total): binding site 13, transmembrane region 4, mutagenesis site 4, topological domain 3, region of interest 3, sequence variant 3, short sequence motif 2, glycosylation site 2, intramembrane region 2, chain 1, compositionally biased region 1, disulfide bond 1, splice variant 1

Structure

Experimental structures (PDB)

9 structures.

PDBMethodResolution (Å)
9MEKELECTRON MICROSCOPY2.85
9MELELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.17
9OTAELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.2
9E94ELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.67
9OTKELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.7
9OV0ELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.9
9OV9ELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.9
9OVDELECTRON MICROSCOPY3.9
9OVEELECTRON MICROSCOPY4.1

Predicted structure (AlphaFold)

ModelpLDDTFraction very-high
AF-Q9Y257-F182.880.55

Functional residue map

Curated UniProt residues grouped by drug-discovery relevance — catalytic, ligand-binding, modification, and mutation-validated positions. Source: UniProtKB sequence features.

Ligand- & substrate-binding residues (13): 106; 106; 107; 107; 108; 108; 109; 214; 214; 215; 215; 216

Disulfide bonds (1): 53

Glycosylation sites (2): 79, 85

Mutagenesis-validated functional residues (4):

PositionPhenotype
53no channel activity.
289disrupts lysosomal targeting signal. increases localization and k(+) current at the plasma membrane; when associated wit
290disrupts lysosomal targeting signal. increases localization and k(+) current at the plasma membrane; when associated wit
308disrupts lysosomal targeting signal. increases localization and k(+) current at the plasma membrane. displays additive e

Function

Pathways and Gene Ontology

Reactome pathways

7 pathways

IDPathway
R-HSA-1299308Tandem of pore domain in a weak inwardly rectifying K+ channels (TWIK)
R-HSA-5576886Phase 4 - resting membrane potential
R-HSA-112316Neuronal System
R-HSA-1296071Potassium Channels
R-HSA-1296346Tandem pore domain potassium channels
R-HSA-397014Muscle contraction
R-HSA-5576891Cardiac conduction

MSigDB gene sets: 241 (showing top): GOBP_POTASSIUM_ION_TRANSPORT, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_BLOOD_PRESSURE, GOBP_CIRCULATORY_SYSTEM_PROCESS, GOBP_INFLAMMATORY_RESPONSE, GOCC_VACUOLAR_MEMBRANE, REACTOME_TANDEM_PORE_DOMAIN_POTASSIUM_CHANNELS, REACTOME_POTASSIUM_CHANNELS, GOZGIT_ESR1_TARGETS_DN, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_SYSTEMIC_ARTERIAL_BLOOD_PRESSURE, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_CELLULAR_COMPONENT_BIOGENESIS, GOBP_MONOATOMIC_CATION_TRANSPORT, GOBP_POSITIVE_REGULATION_OF_RESPONSE_TO_EXTERNAL_STIMULUS, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_ANATOMICAL_STRUCTURE_SIZE, GOBP_REGULATION_OF_IMMUNE_RESPONSE, GOBP_POSITIVE_REGULATION_OF_CELLULAR_COMPONENT_BIOGENESIS

GO Biological Process (9): negative regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure (GO:0003085), potassium ion transport (GO:0006813), regulation of resting membrane potential (GO:0060075), regulation of lysosome size (GO:0062196), potassium ion transmembrane transport (GO:0071805), positive regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome complex assembly (GO:1900227), regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure (GO:0003073), monoatomic ion transport (GO:0006811), monoatomic ion transmembrane transport (GO:0034220)

GO Molecular Function (5): inward rectifier potassium channel activity (GO:0005242), potassium channel activity (GO:0005267), outward rectifier potassium channel activity (GO:0015271), potassium ion leak channel activity (GO:0022841), metal ion binding (GO:0046872)

GO Cellular Component (8): lysosomal membrane (GO:0005765), plasma membrane (GO:0005886), voltage-gated potassium channel complex (GO:0008076), late endosome membrane (GO:0031902), lysosome (GO:0005764), endosome (GO:0005768), membrane (GO:0016020), monoatomic ion channel complex (GO:0034702)

Reactome top-level categories

Rollup of top-5 pathways:

CategoryPathways
Tandem pore domain potassium channels1
Cardiac conduction1
Neuronal System1
Potassium Channels1
Muscle contraction1

GO top-level categories

Rollup of top GO terms by namespace:

CategoryTerms
voltage-gated potassium channel activity2
regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure1
negative regulation of blood pressure1
metal ion transport1
regulation of membrane potential1
regulation of cellular component size1
potassium ion transport1
monoatomic cation transmembrane transport1
positive regulation of protein-containing complex assembly1
NLRP3 inflammasome complex assembly1
positive regulation of inflammasome-mediated signaling pathway1
regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome complex assembly1
regulation of blood pressure1
transport1
monoatomic ion transport1
transmembrane transport1
ligand-gated monoatomic cation channel activity1
monoatomic cation channel activity1
potassium ion transmembrane transporter activity1
potassium channel activity1
leak channel activity1
cation binding1
lysosome1
lytic vacuole membrane1
membrane1
cell periphery1
potassium channel complex1
plasma membrane protein complex1
late endosome1
endosome membrane1
lytic vacuole1
endomembrane system1
cytoplasmic vesicle1
cellular anatomical structure1
transmembrane transporter complex1

Protein interactions and networks

STRING

512 interactions, top by confidence (×1000):

Protein AProtein BPartner UniProtScore
KCNK6KRT76Q01546980
KCNK6KCNAB3O43448536
KCNK6KCNK13Q9HB14536
KCNK6KCNJ13O60928523
KCNK6KCNG1Q9UIX4508
KCNK6KCNJ14Q9UNX9485
KCNK6CLCN3P51790468
KCNK6SLC9A2Q9UBY0447
KCNK6KCNH7Q9NS40440
KCNK6WNK4Q96J92435
KCNK6KCNN4O15554422
KCNK6KCNA3P22001416
KCNK6CREBL2O60519409
KCNK6NEK7Q8TDX7392
KCNK6ANO10Q9NW15387

IntAct

0 interactions, top by confidence:

ESM2 similar proteins: A0A2Z2U4G9, A4K2M4, A4K2N8, A4K2P6, A4K2Q6, A4K2R3, A4K2S2, A4K2T1, A4K2V2, A4K2W6, A4K2X4, A4K2Y2, G3V8R8, G5E845, L5KLU7, O00180, O08581, O14649, O17185, O19179, O35111, O35173, O54912, O88758, P26770, P51840, P55203, Q02846, Q0P5A0, Q17ST2, Q1KZG0, Q3LS21, Q3TBV4, Q5RD07, Q5UE96, Q7TNJ2, Q8BH02, Q8IZY2, Q8R454, Q8R5I0

Diamond homologs: A8X8I4, Q19907, Q9Y257, G3V8R8, G3V8V5, G5E845, O00180, O08581, O14649, O17185, O35111, O54912, O88454, O95069, O95279, P57789, P97438, Q0P5A0, Q23435, Q3LS21, Q3TBV4, Q5RD07, Q5UE96, Q5VSE6, Q63ZI0, Q6Q1P3, Q6VV64, Q7Z418, Q8BUW1, Q8R454, Q8R5I0, Q920B6, Q96T54, Q96T55, Q9ERS1, Q9ES08, Q9H427, Q9HB14, Q9HB15, Q9JIS4

SIGNOR signaling

0 interactions.

Disease & clinical

Clinical variants and AI predictions

ClinVar

80 variants total. Per-class counts are floors (≥ shown; pagination cap):

ClassificationCount (floor)
Pathogenic0
Likely pathogenic0
Uncertain significance67
Likely benign5
Benign0

Top pathogenic / likely-pathogenic (0)

SpliceAI

573 predictions. Top by Δscore:

VariantEffectΔscore
19:38320269:GTGG:Gdonor_gain1.0000
19:38326986:CAGG:Cdonor_loss1.0000
19:38326987:AG:Adonor_loss1.0000
19:38326989:GTGA:Gdonor_loss1.0000
19:38327178:A:AGacceptor_gain1.0000
19:38327179:G:GGacceptor_gain1.0000
19:38327179:GTCT:Gacceptor_gain1.0000
19:38327179:GTCTA:Gacceptor_gain1.0000
19:38320271:GG:Gdonor_gain0.9900
19:38320272:GG:Gdonor_gain0.9900
19:38320273:GTA:Gdonor_loss0.9900
19:38320273:GTAC:Gdonor_gain0.9900
19:38320277:G:GGdonor_gain0.9900
19:38324605:G:GTdonor_gain0.9900
19:38326587:CCCTA:Cacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38326588:CCTAG:Cacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38326589:CTAGG:Cacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38326590:TAG:Tacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38326591:A:ACacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38326591:A:AGacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38326591:AG:Aacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38326592:G:GAacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38326592:GG:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38326592:GGCT:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38326592:GGCTA:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38327177:CA:Cacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38327178:A:ACacceptor_loss0.9900
19:38327179:GT:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38327179:GTC:Gacceptor_gain0.9900
19:38326592:GGC:Gacceptor_gain0.9800

AlphaMissense

1958 scored. Top likely-pathogenic:

VariantProtein changeam_pathogenicity
19:38326630:G:CK120N0.995
19:38326630:G:TK120N0.995
19:38320251:A:CS101R0.994
19:38320253:C:AS101R0.994
19:38320253:C:GS101R0.994
19:38326889:T:CF207L0.990
19:38326891:C:AF207L0.990
19:38326891:C:GF207L0.990
19:38320223:G:CW91C0.989
19:38320223:G:TW91C0.989
19:38326599:G:AG110E0.985
19:38326658:G:CG130R0.985
19:38320245:T:CF99L0.984
19:38320247:C:AF99L0.984
19:38320247:C:GF99L0.984
19:38326598:G:TG110W0.983
19:38326893:G:AC208Y0.983
19:38326617:C:TT116I0.982
19:38326894:C:GC208W0.982
19:38326650:C:AA127E0.981
19:38326593:G:AG108D0.980
19:38320011:G:CG21R0.979
19:38320272:G:CG108R0.977
19:38326659:G:AG130D0.977
19:38326914:T:AI215N0.976
19:38326917:G:AG216D0.976
19:38320267:C:TT106I0.975
19:38326892:T:CC208R0.975
19:38326902:C:AS211Y0.975
19:38320012:G:AG21D0.974

dbSNP variants (sampled 300 via entrez): RS1000308085 (19:38322165 G>T), RS1000311762 (19:38330093 G>A,C), RS1000372110 (19:38323995 A>G), RS1000387631 (19:38317897 A>C), RS1000488188 (19:38324309 G>A,C), RS1000662488 (19:38330474 C>T), RS1000835862 (19:38319235 A>T), RS1001268720 (19:38331776 T>C), RS1001314777 (19:38327206 A>C,G), RS1001383353 (19:38325419 G>A,T), RS1001721465 (19:38331498 A>C,T), RS1001764678 (19:38321396 C>A), RS1001786620 (19:38320869 G>A,T), RS1002122175 (19:38331649 T>C,G), RS1002449716 (19:38331641 G>A)

Disease associations

OMIM: gene MIM:603939 | disease phenotypes:

GenCC curated gene-disease

Mondo (0):

Orphanet (0):

HPO phenotypes

0 total (0 of 0 shown, HPO-id order):

GWAS associations

0 associations (top):

Drugs & pharmacology

Drug and pharmacology data

Is drug target: no

PharmGKB: 1 entry (VIP=true, CPIC=false)

GtoPdb / IUPHAR curated pharmacology

(IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology — expert-curated)

Target class: vgic — Two-pore domain potassium channels (K2P)

CTD chemical–gene interactions

38 total (human), top 30 by PubMed support.

ChemicalActions (top 5)PubMed papers
Valproic Acidaffects cotreatment, increases expression, affects expression, increases methylation7
Estradiolaffects binding, increases expression, affects cotreatment3
entinostatincreases expression, affects cotreatment2
Benzo(a)pyrenedecreases methylation, increases expression2
Nickelincreases expression2
Smokedecreases expression, increases abundance2
aristolochic acid Iincreases expression1
propionaldehydeincreases expression1
bisphenol Aincreases expression1
trichostatin Aincreases expression1
perfluorooctanoic acidaffects cotreatment, decreases expression1
picenedecreases expression1
di-n-butylphosphoric acidaffects expression1
4-(5-benzo(1,3)dioxol-5-yl-4-pyridin-2-yl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzamideincreases expression, affects cotreatment1
erucylphospho-N,N,N-trimethylpropylammoniumincreases expression1
nutlin 3affects cotreatment, increases expression1
bisphenol Bincreases expression1
abrinedecreases expression1
dorsomorphinaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
bisphenol Zincreases expression1
Arsenic Trioxidedecreases expression1
Air Pollutantsdecreases expression, increases abundance1
Camptothecinincreases expression1
Cosmeticsaffects cotreatment, decreases expression1
Dactinomycinaffects cotreatment, increases expression1
Diethylhexyl Phthalateincreases expression1
Doxorubicindecreases expression1
Flame Retardantsaffects cotreatment, decreases expression1
Plasticizersaffects cotreatment, decreases expression1
Progesteroneincreases expression1

Cellosaurus cell lines

2 cell lines: 2 cancer cell line

First 10 cell lines (id-ordered, not curated):

CellosaurusNameCategorySex
CVCL_E2A6HAP1 KCNK6 (-) 1Cancer cell lineMale
CVCL_E2A7HAP1 KCNK6 (-) 2Cancer cell lineMale

Clinical trials (associated diseases)

0 trials via MONDO — disease-level, not drug-specific.