Transmembrane protein 63A (TMEM63A)

Transmembrane protein 63A is a mechanosensitive cation channel predominantly found in animal cells, evolutionarily related to the OSCA family in plants. TMEM63A forms a monomeric, high-threshold mechanosensitive ion channel located at the plasma membrane and, in some contexts, the lysosome. It is activated by mechanical stimuli such as membrane stretch or osmotic shifts and mediates the influx of cations, including Ca2+ and Na+. TMEM63A is critical for oligodendrocyte-dependent myelination in the central nervous system and crucial in alveolar type I and II epithelial cells for surfuctant release and respiratory function. Mutations in TMEM63A are causative for infantile hypomyelinating leukodystrophy 19 (HLD19), and variants have been associated with other neurodevelopmental disorders due to altered channel or scramblase function. TMEM63A is being investigated as a potential therapeutic target due to its essential physiological roles in mechanotransduction, although no modulatory drugs are clinically available at this time.

Other names

Mechanosensitive cation channel TMEM63AKIAA0489KIAA0792hTMEM63AHLD19CSC1-like protein 1

As no drugs are listed, mechanisms of drug action are not established; mechanistically, channel activation produces cation influx in response to mechanical force