Journal
PLOS ONE
Volume 10, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139284
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Cientifico y Tecnologico, Chile (FONDECYT) [1120743]
- Centres of Excellence Base Financing Programme of the Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, Chile (Conicyt)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Kir7.1 is an inwardly rectifying K+ channel of the Kir superfamily encoded by the kcnj13 gene. Kir7.1 is present in epithelial tissues where it colocalizes with the Na+/K+-pump probably serving to recycle K+ taken up by the pump. Human mutations affecting Kir7.1 are associated with retinal degeneration diseases. We generated a mouse lacking Kir7.1 by ablation of the Kcnj13 gene. Homozygous mutant null mice die hours after birth and show cleft palate and moderate retardation in lung development. Kir7.1 is expressed in the epithelium covering the palatal processes at the time at which palate sealing takes place and our results suggest it might play an essential role in late palatogenesis. Our work also reveals a second unexpected role in the development and the physiology of the respiratory system, where Kir7.1 is expressed in epithelial cells all along the respiratory tree.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available