Gene expression pattern Characterization of Dir: a putative potassium inward rectifying channel in Drosophila

Potassium channels vary in their function and regulation, yet they maintain a number of important features – they are involved in the control of potassium flow, cell volume, cell membrane resting potential, cell excitability and hormone release. The potassium (K1) inward rectifier (Kir) superfamily of channels are potassium selective channels, that are sensitive to the concentration of K1 ions. They are termed inward rectifiers since they allow a much greater K1 influx than efflux. There are at least seven subfamilies of Kir channels, groupe