Classification of ion channels

The current unified nomenclature of mammalian ion channels is based on the recommendations of The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) (https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/) together with The Human Genome Organization (HUGO) nomenclature committee (HGNC) (https://www.genenames.org/). Although the efforts of these two organizations are hugely important and helpful, there are some discrepancies in how they view the final classification. IUPHAR uses the ion channel names, which are mostly used in the literature, and therefore IUPHAR classification is preferred by ion channel researchers. In contrast, HGNC proposes to assign the unique symbols and names to each human gene/protein and therefore is preferred by genome biologists. To give you an example, HGNC sees voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.7 (IUPHAR’s nomenclature) as SCN9A, so the protein name is the same as the gene’s (SCN9A) except that it’s not italicized.