ReviewChannels (Austin, Tex.)2023
TMEM120A/TACAN: A putative regulator of ion channels, mechanosensation, and lipid metabolism.
Review in Channels (Austin, Tex.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- A review of preclinical research on mechanically gated ion channels as therapeutic targets in neuropathic pain.Annals of medicine · 2026Review
- Genetic Variants inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Proteomic Ligandability Maps of Phosphorus(V) Stereoprobes Identify Covalent TLCD1 Inhibitors.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2025Article
- Proteomic Ligandability Maps of Phosphorus(V) Stereoprobes Identify Covalent TLCD1 Inhibitors.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- PIEZO2 Proton Affinity and Availability May Also Regulate Mechanical Pain Sensitivity, Drive Central Sensitization and Neurodegeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- PIEZO ion channels: force sensors of the interoceptive nervous system.The Journal of physiology · 2024Review
- Phosphatidic acid is an endogenous negative regulator of PIEZO2 channels and mechanical sensitivity.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Phosphatidic acid is an endogenous negative regulator of PIEZO2 channels and mechanical sensitivity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
TMEM120A (TACAN) is an enigmatic protein with several seemingly unconnected functions. It was proposed to be an ion channel involved in sensing mechanical stimuli, and knockdown/knockout experiments have implicated that TMEM120A may be necessary for sensing mechanical pain. TMEM120A's ion channel function has subsequently been challenged, as attempts to replicate electrophysiological experiments have largely been unsuccessful. Several cryo-EM structures revealed TMEM120A is structurally homologous to a lipid modifying enzyme called Elongation of Very Long Chain Fatty Acids 7 (ELOVL7). Although TMEM120A's channel function is debated, it still seems to affect mechanosensation by inhibiting PIEZO2 channels and by modifying tactile pain responses in animal models. TMEM120A was also shown to inhibit polycystin-2 (PKD2) channels through direct physical interaction. Additionally, TMEM120A has been implicated in adipocyte regulation and in innate immune response against Zika virus. The way TMEM120A is proposed to alter each of these processes ranges from regulating gene expression, acting as a lipid modifying enzyme, and controlling subcellular localization of other proteins through direct binding. Here, we examine TMEM120A's structure and proposed functions in diverse physiological contexts.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.