KCNJ12

Chr 17

potassium inwardly rectifying channel subfamily J member 12

Also known as: IRK-2, IRK2, KCNJN1, Kir2.2, hIRK, hIRK1, hkir2.2x, kcnj12x

This gene encodes an inwardly rectifying K+ channel which may be blocked by divalent cations. This protein is thought to be one of multiple inwardly rectifying channels which contribute to the cardiac inward rectifier current (IK1). The gene is located within the Smith-Magenis syndrome region on chromosome 17. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

0
Active trials
5
Pathogenic / LP
140
ClinVar variants
2
Pubs (1 yr)
1.2
Missense Z
1.05
LOEUF
Clinical SummaryKCNJ12
Population Constraint (gnomAD)
Low constraint (pLI 0.05) — loss-of-function variants are relatively tolerated in the population.
📋
ClinVar Variants
5 Pathogenic / Likely Pathogenic· 84 VUS of 140 total submissions

Population Genetics & Constraint

gnomAD v4 — loss-of-function & missense intolerance

Tolerant — LoF & missense variants common in population
LoF Constraint?LOEUF (Loss-of-function Observed/Expected Upper bound Fraction) is the upper bound of the 90% CI for LoF OE — the preferred gnomAD v4 metric. Lower = more intolerant to LoF. LOEUF < 0.35 = highly constrained.
1.05LOEUF
pLI 0.054
Z-score 1.49
OE 0.41 (0.181.05)
Tolerant

Highly tolerant — LoF variants common in population

Missense Constraint?Missense Z-score: standard deviations fewer missense variants observed vs. expected. Z > 3.09 (p < 0.001) = gene does not tolerate missense variation. OE missense < 0.6 is also considered constrained.
1.16Z-score
OE missense 0.78 (0.690.89)
175 obs / 224.0 exp
Tolerant

Mild missense constraint

Observed / Expected Ratios?Shaded band = 90% confidence interval. Vertical tick = point estimate. Grey threshold line = gnomAD constraint cutoff for that variant class.
LoF OE?Ratio of observed to expected LoF variants. Upper CI bound (LOEUF) ≤ 0.35 = strong LoF constraint signal.0.41 (0.181.05)
00.351.4
Missense OE?Ratio of observed to expected missense variants. OE ≤ 0.6 = fewer missense variants than expected by chance.0.78 (0.690.89)
00.61.4
Synonymous OE?Control metric — synonymous variants are largely neutral and expected near OE = 1.0. Significant deviation may indicate annotation issues.0.95
01.21.6
LoF obs/exp: 3 / 7.4Missense obs/exp: 175 / 224.0Syn Z: 0.40
DN
0.80top 25%
GOF
0.89top 5%
LOF
0.2092th %ile

This gene has evidence for multiple mechanisms of pathogenicity (gain-of-function and dominant-negative). Both the Badonyi & Marsh prediction and the broader genomic evidence point to gain-of-function as the predominant mechanism. Different variants in this gene may act through different mechanisms — interpret in context of the specific variant.

GOFprediction above median
DNprediction above median

Note: In-silico variant effect predictors (SIFT, PolyPhen, REVEL, CADD) may underestimate pathogenicity of missense variants in genes with GOF or DN mechanisms. Consider functional evidence and clinical context.

Predictions from Badonyi M, Marsh JA. PLoS ONE. 2024;19(8):e0307312.

ClinVar Variant Classifications

140 submitted variants in ClinVar

Classification Summary

Pathogenic5
VUS84
Likely Benign14
Benign37
5
Pathogenic
84
VUS
14
Likely Benign
37
Benign

Curated Variants Distribution

Classified variants from ClinVar · 5 ACMG categories

ClassificationLoFMissense + InframeNon-codingSynonymousTotal
Pathogenic
0
0
5
0
5
Likely Pathogenic
0
0
0
0
0
VUS
0
69
14
1
84
Likely Benign
0
1
2
11
14
Benign
0
18
2
17
37
Total0882329140

LoF = frameshift, stop gained/lost, canonical splice · Counts from ClinVar esearch · Updated hourly

View in ClinVar →

Protein Context — Lollipop Plot

KCNJ12 · protein map & ClinVar variants

Showing all ClinVar variants across the protein. Search a specific variant to highlight its position.

Clinical Trials

Active and recruiting trials from ClinicalTrials.gov

No active trials found for this gene.

Search ClinicalTrials.gov →
Clinical Literature
Landmark / reviewRecent case evidence