ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025
Structure of the human TWIK-2 potassium channel and its inhibition by pimozide.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- One pocket to activate them all (?): Efforts on understanding the modulator pocket in K2P channels.Channels (Austin, Tex.) · 2026Review
- Structural basis for proton inhibition of the two-pore domain KStructure (London, England : 1993) · 2026Article
- Structural evidence that a lipid plug controls KNature communications · 2026Article
- Molecular architecture of the fungal-specific potassium channel TOK1.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Insights into the structure and modulation of human TWIK-2.Nature communications · 2026Article
- K2P channels as emerging therapeutic targets for pain: insights from functional studies and transcriptomic analyses.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- From plasma membrane to lysosomes: expanding roles of TMEM63/OSCA channels in mechanosensation and intracellular signaling.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Atomistic mechanism of noncanonical voltage gating in KScience advances · 2025Article
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4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The potassium channel TWIK-2 is crucial for ATP-induced activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages. The channel is a member of the two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel superfamily and an emerging therapeutic target to mitigate severe inflammatory injury involving NLRP3 activation. We report the cryo-EM structure of human TWIK-2. In comparison to other K2P channels, the structure reveals an unusual "up" conformation of Tyr111 in the selectivity filter and a resulting SF1-P1 pocket behind the filter. Density for acyl chains is present in fenestrations within the transmembrane region that connects the central cavity of the pore to the lipid membrane. Despite its importance as a drug target, limited pharmacological tools are available for TWIK-2. A previous study suggested that the FDA-approved small molecule pimozide might inhibit TWIK-2. Using a reconstituted system, we show that pimozide directly inhibits the channel and we determine a cryo-EM structure of a complex with the drug. Pimozide displaces the acyl chains within the fenestrations and binds below the selectivity filter where it would impede ion permeation. The drug may access its binding site by lateral diffusion in the membrane, suggesting that other hydrophobic small molecules could have utility for inhibiting TWIK-2. The work defines the structure of TWIK-2 and provides a structural foundation for development of more specific inhibitors with potential utility as anti-inflammatory drugs.
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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.