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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Profiling Voltage-gated Potassium Channel mRNA Expression in Nigral Neurons using Single-cell RT-PCR Techniques
Published on: September 27, 2011
Activity- and mTOR-dependent suppression of Kv1.1 channel mRNA translation in dendrites
Kimberly F Raab-Graham1, Patrick C G Haddick, Yuh Nung Jan
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
Abstract:
Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is implicated in synaptic plasticity and local translation in dendrites. We found that the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, increased the Kv1.1 voltage-gated potassium channel protein in hippocampal neurons and promoted Kv1.1 surface expression on dendrites without altering its axonal expression. Moreover, endogenous Kv1.1 mRNA was detected in dendrites. Using Kv1.1 fused to the photoconvertible fluorescence protein Kaede as a reporter for local synthesis, we observed Kv1.1 synthesis in dendrites upon inhibition of mTOR or the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor. Thus, synaptic excitation may cause local suppression of dendritic Kv1 channels by reducing their local synthesis.
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