Emma L. Veale

Gain-of-function (GoF) missense variants in the two-pore domain (K2P) K+ channel TASK-1 (KCNK3) result in developmental delay with sleep apnea (DDSA), a neurodevelopmental channelopathy, while loss-of-function (LoF) variants cause pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, for the related TASK-3 channel (KCNK9), both LoF and GoF variants underlie a distinct neurodevelopmental disorder, KCNK9 imprinting syndrome (KIS). The relationship between genotype and phenotype in these disorders is further complicated because TASK-1 and TASK-3 can co-assemble into heteromeric channels with distinct functional properties. Here, we report additional patients with missense variants in KCNK3 and KCNK9 and investigate the effect of four novel genetic variants on the functional properties of homomeric and heteromeric TASK channels. Interestingly, two of these new pathogenic GoF variants (R131H and L122V) are found in both TASK-1 and TASK-3 and have equivalent functional effects on heteromeric TASK-1/TASK-3 channel activity, yet result in different clinical phenotypes. We have also determined a cryo-EM structure for the pathogenic L122V mutant TASK-3 channel, which suggests that subtle changes in gating and permeation within the inner cavity are responsible for its activatory effect. Overall, these results highlight the dominant role that homomeric TASK channels likely play in defining their associated channelopathies as well as the complexity of interpreting K+ channel dysfunction in pathophysiology.

NS5806 is a diaryl‐urea small molecule developed for the treatment of pain and neurological disorders. A potent activator of K _v 4.3 potassium channels, it is widely used to study K _v 4 channel physiology in excitable cells, including trigeminal neurons. Surprisingly, we found that NS5806 produced a significant, robust hyperpolarization of the resting membrane potential of all trigeminal neurons tested. Given the structural similarity of NS5806 to other negatively charged activator compounds with broad potassium channel activity, we investigated whether NS5806 might also modulate the two‐pore domain potassium (K2P) TREK channels, which are abundantly expressed in sensory neurons. Here we show that NS5806 activates both TREK‐1 and TREK‐2 channels. While NS5806 is described as a K _v 4‐selective activator, our data suggest that its effects on trigeminal and other neurons may arise from concurrent activation of multiple potassium channel types, including TREK‐1 and TREK‐2.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70229 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. In addition to this general overview, which includes a section on ‘Other protein targets’ that fall outside of the main classifications, the Concise Guide focuses on six key areas: G protein‐coupled receptors, ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries, information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70234 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. Enzymes are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: G protein‐coupled receptors, ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors and transporters. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries, information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70235 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. Transporters are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: G protein‐coupled receptors, ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors and enzymes. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries, information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70231 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. Ion channels are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: G protein‐coupled receptors, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries, information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70230 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. G protein‐coupled receptors are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries, information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70232 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. Nuclear hormone receptors are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: G protein‐coupled receptors, ion channels, catalytic receptors, enzymes and transporters. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

The Concise Guide to Pharmacology 2025/26 marks the seventh edition in this series of biennial publications in the British Journal of Pharmacology. Presented in landscape format, the guide provides a comparative overview of the pharmacology of drug target families. The concise nature of the Concise Guide refers to the style of presentation, being clear, accessible, and well‐structured, rather than the scope of the content, which spans approximately 500 pages. The Concise Guide summarises the key pharmacological properties of around 1900 human drug targets, and nearly 7000 interactions, involving around 4400 ligands. While the content is a substantially condensed version of the more detailed information and links available at the www.guidetopharmacology.org website, the printed guide serves as a permanent, citable, point‐in‐time record, that remains stable despite ongoing updates to the online database. The full contents of this publication can be found at https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.70233 . The Concise Guides provide expert‐curated recommendations of ‘Gold Standard’ selective pharmacological tools, available either commercially or as donations, which enable the identification of individual drug targets or families of drug targets. While the Concise Guide offers a more streamlined overview, more comprehensive information, including detailed pharmacological profiles and links to multiple online databases, is available through the Guide to Pharmacology website. The 2025/26 edition of the Concise Guide is based on material current as of mid‐2025, and supersedes all previous editions, including the 2023/24 Guide, and earlier Guides to Receptors and Channels. It is produced in close conjunction with the Nomenclature and Standards Committee of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (NC‐IUPHAR), and as such provides official IUPHAR classification and nomenclature for human drug targets, where applicable. Catalytic receptors are one of the six major pharmacological targets into which the Guide is divided, with the others being: G protein‐coupled receptors, ion channels, nuclear hormone receptors, enzymes and transporters. Each section includes nomenclature guidance, concise summaries, information of the best available pharmacological tools, key references, and suggestions for further reading.

Gain-of-function (GoF) missense variants in the Two-Pore Domain (K2P) K ⁺ channel TASK-1 ( KCNK3 ) result in Developmental Delay with Sleep Apnea (DDSA), a neurodevelopmental channelopathy, whilst loss-of-function (LoF) variants cause a hypertensive disorder. However, for the related TASK-3 channel ( KCNK9 ), both LoF and GoF variants underlie a distinct neurodevelopmental disorder, KCNK9 Imprinting Syndrome (KIS). The relationship between genotype and phenotype in these disorders is further complicated because TASK-1 and TASK-3 can co-assemble into heteromeric channels with distinct functional properties. Here we report additional probands with missense variants in KCNK3 and KCNK9 and investigate the effect of four novel variants on the functional properties of both homomeric and heteromeric TASK channels. Interestingly, two of these new GoF variants (R131H and L122V) are found in both TASK-1 and TASK-3 and have equivalent functional effects on heteromeric TASK-1/TASK-3 channels, yet result in different clinical phenotypes. We have also determined a cryoEM structure for the pathogenic L122V mutant TASK-3 channel which suggests its dramatic functional effect is likely due to subtle changes in gating and permeation within the inner cavity. Overall, these results highlight the dominant role that homomeric TASK channels play in defining their associated channelopathies as well as the complexity of interpreting K ⁺ channel dysfunction in pathophysiology.