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Concept
Voltage-gated potassium channel
Summary
Voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKCs) are transmembrane channels specific for potassium and sensitive to voltage changes in the cell's membrane potential. During action potentials, they play a crucial role in returning the depolarized cell to a resting state.
Alpha subunits form the actual conductance pore. Based on sequence homology of the hydrophobic transmembrane cores, the alpha subunits of voltage-gated potassium channels are grouped into 12 classes. These are labeled Kvα1-12. The following is a list of the 40 known human voltage-gated potassium channel alpha subunits grouped first according to function and then subgrouped according to the Kv sequence homology classification scheme:
slowly inactivating or non-inactivating
Kvα1.x - Shaker-related: Kv1.1 (KCNA1), Kv1.2 (KCNA2), Kv1.3 (KCNA3), Kv1.5 (KCNA5), Kv1.6 (KCNA6), Kv1.7 (KCNA7), Kv1.8 (KCNA10)
Kvα2.x - Shab-related: Kv2.1 (KCNB1), Kv2.2 (KCNB2)
Kvα3.x - Shaw-related: Kv3.1 (KCNC1), Kv3.2 (KCNC2)
Kvα7.x: Kv7.1 (KCNQ1) - KvLQT1, Kv7.2 (KCNQ2), Kv7.3 (KCNQ3), Kv7.4 (KCNQ4), Kv7.5 (KCNQ5)
Kvα10.x: Kv10.1 (KCNH1)
rapidly inactivating
Kvα1.x - Shaker-related: Kv1.4 (KCNA4)
Kvα4.x - Shal-related: Kv4.1 (KCND1), Kv4.2 (KCND2), Kv4.3 (KCND3)
Kvα10.x: Kv10.2 (KCNH5)
Passes current more easily in the inward direction (into the cell, from outside).
Kvα11.x - ether-a-go-go potassium channels: Kv11.1 (KCNH2) - hERG, Kv11.2 (KCNH6), Kv11.3 (KCNH7)
Kvα12.x: Kv12.1 (KCNH8), Kv12.2 (KCNH3), Kv12.3 (KCNH4)
Unable to form functional channels as homotetramers but instead heterotetramerize with Kvα2 family members to form conductive channels.
Kvα5.x: Kv5.1 (KCNF1)
Kvα6.x: Kv6.1 (KCNG1), Kv6.2 (KCNG2), Kv6.3 (KCNG3), Kv6.4 (KCNG4)
Kvα8.x: Kv8.1 (KCNV1), Kv8.2 (KCNV2)
Kvα9.x: Kv9.1 (KCNS1), Kv9.2 (KCNS2), Kv9.3 (KCNS3)
Beta subunits are auxiliary proteins that associate with alpha subunits, sometimes in a α4β4 stoichiometry. These subunits do not conduct current on their own but rather modulate the activity of Kv channels.
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Potassium channel
Potassium channels are the most widely distributed type of ion channel found in virtually all organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes. Potassium channels are found in most cell types and control a wide variety of cell functions. Potassium channels function to conduct potassium ions down their electrochemical gradient, doing so both rapidly (up to the diffusion rate of K+ ions in bulk water) and selectively (excluding, most notably, sodium despite the sub-angstrom difference in ionic radius).
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Voltage-gated ion channels are a class of transmembrane proteins that form ion channels that are activated by changes in the electrical membrane potential near the channel. The membrane potential alters the conformation of the channel proteins, regulating their opening and closing. Cell membranes are generally impermeable to ions, thus they must diffuse through the membrane through transmembrane protein channels. They have a crucial role in excitable cells such as neuronal and muscle tissues, allowing a rapid and co-ordinated depolarization in response to triggering voltage change.
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Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. That is, there is a difference in the energy required for electric charges to move from the internal to exterior cellular environments and vice versa, as long as there is no acquisition of kinetic energy or the production of radiation. The concentration gradients of the charges directly determine this energy requirement.
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