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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Isolation and Kv Channel Recordings in Murine Atrial and Ventricular Cardiomyocytes
Published on: March 12, 2013
Nano-environmental changes by KCNE proteins modify KCNQ channel function
Koichi Nakajo1, Yoshihiro Kubo
1National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan. knakajo@nips.ac.jp
Abstract:
The KCNQ1 channel is a voltage-dependent potassium channel, which is widely expressed in various tissues of the human body including heart, inner ear, intestine, kidney and pancreas. The ion channel properties of KCNQ1 change remarkably when auxiliary subunit KCNE proteins co-exist. The mechanisms of KCNQ1 channel regulation by KCNE proteins are of longstanding interest but are still far from being fully understood. The pore region (S5-S6 segments) of KCNQ1 is thought to be the main interaction site for KCNE proteins. However, some recent reports showed that the voltage-sensing domain (S1-S4 segments) is critically involved in the regulation of KCNQ1 by KCNE proteins. In addition, we recently re-examined the stoichiometry of the KCNQ1-KCNE1 complex and found that the stoichiometry is not fixed but rather flexible and the KCNQ1 channel can have up to four associated KCNE1 proteins. We will review these recent findings concerning the mechanisms of KCNQ1 regulation by KCNE proteins.
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