U neurogenetici, Kir2.1 se koristi u istraživanju voćnih mušica roda Drosophila, za inhibiranje neurona, jer prekomjerna ekspresija ovog kanala hiperpolarizira ćelije.
U optogenetici, sekvenca prometa Kir2.1 dodata je u halorodopsin radi poboljšanja lokalizacije njegove membrane. Dobijeni protein eNpHR3.0 koristi se u optogenetičkim istraživanjima za inhibiciju neurona svetlošću.[12]
Ekspresija gena Kir2.1 u ljudskim ćelijama HEK293 inducira privremenu vanjsku struju, stvarajući postojani membranski potencijal, blizu potencijala preokreta kalija.[13]
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^Kubo Y, Adelman JP, Clapham DE, Jan LY, Karschin A, Kurachi Y, Lazdunski M, Nichols CG, Seino S, Vandenberg CA (2005). "International Union of Pharmacology. LIV. Nomenclature and molecular relationships of inwardly rectifying potassium channels". Pharmacol. Rev. 57 (4): 509–26. doi:10.1124/pr.57.4.11. PMID16382105. S2CID11588492.
^Donaldson MR, Yoon G, Fu YH, Ptacek LJ (2004). "Andersen-Tawil syndrome: a model of clinical variability, pleiotropy, and genetic heterogeneity". Ann. Med. 36 Suppl 1: 92–7. doi:10.1080/17431380410032490. PMID15176430. S2CID7362563.
Kubo Y, Adelman JP, Clapham DE, et al. (2006). "International Union of Pharmacology. LIV. Nomenclature and molecular relationships of inwardly rectifying potassium channels". Pharmacol. Rev. 57 (4): 509–26. doi:10.1124/pr.57.4.11. PMID16382105. S2CID11588492.
Raab-Graham KF, Radeke CM, Vandenberg CA (1995). "Molecular cloning and expression of a human heart inward rectifier potassium channel". NeuroReport. 5 (18): 2501–5. doi:10.1097/00001756-199412000-00024. PMID7696590.
Ashen MD, O'Rourke B, Kluge KA, et al. (1995). "Inward rectifier K+ channel from human heart and brain: cloning and stable expression in a human cell line". Am. J. Physiol. 268 (1 Pt 2): H506–11. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.1995.268.1.H506. PMID7840300.
Tang W, Qin CL, Yang XC (1996). "Cloning, localization, and functional expression of a human brain inward rectifier potassium channel (hIRK1)". Recept. Channels. 3 (3): 175–83. PMID8821791.
Rae JL, Shepard AR (1998). "Inwardly rectifying potassium channels in lens epithelium are from the IRK1 (Kir 2.1) family". Exp. Eye Res. 66 (3): 347–59. doi:10.1006/exer.1997.0432. PMID9533862.
Plaster NM, Tawil R, Tristani-Firouzi M, et al. (2001). "Mutations in Kir2.1 cause the developmental and episodic electrical phenotypes of Andersen's syndrome". Cell. 105 (4): 511–9. doi:10.1016/S0092-8674(01)00342-7. PMID11371347. S2CID17015195.
Jeong JS, Lee HJ, Jung JS, et al. (2001). "Characterization of inwardly rectifying K(+) conductance across the basolateral membrane of rat tracheal epithelia". Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 288 (4): 914–20. doi:10.1006/bbrc.2001.5831. PMID11688996.