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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Recapitulation of an Ion Channel IV Curve Using Frequency Components
Published on: February 8, 2011
An evolutionarily conserved family of accessory subunits of K+ channels
Shi-Qing Cai1, Ki Ho Park, Federico Sesti
1University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, 683 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Abstract:
Accessory subunits are an essential feature of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels. They determine trafficking to the plasma membrane, surface expression, gating, permeation, and pharmacology. At least three distinct classes of accessory subunits including the KCNE family can regulate Kv channel function. KCNE genes encode integral membrane proteins with a single transmembrane domain. KCNE genes span the eukaryotic kingdom and, in mutated form, can cause acquired and congenital disease. Here we review genetic, physiological, and biophysical aspects of KCNE proteins with particular emphasis on the Caenorhabditis elegans subfamily.
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