Kir2.1 is important for efficient BMP signaling in mammalian face development.

Mutations that disrupt the inwardly rectifying potassium channel Kir2.1 lead to Andersen-Tawil syndrome that includes periodic paralysis, cardiac arrhythmia, cognitive deficits, craniofacial dysmorphologies and limb defects. The molecular mechanism that underlies the developmental consequences of inhibition of these channels has remained a mystery.