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Updated: May 20, 2026

Study of the Functions and Activities of Neuronal K-Cl Co-Transporter KCC2 Using Western Blotting
Published on: December 9, 2022
KCNE Regulation of K(+) Channel Trafficking - a Sisyphean Task?
Vikram A Kanda1, Geoffrey W Abbott
1Department of Biology, Manhattan College Riverdale, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels shape the action potentials of excitable cells and regulate membrane potential and ion homeostasis in excitable and non-excitable cells. With 40 known members in the human genome and a variety of homomeric and heteromeric pore-forming α subunit interactions, post-translational modifications, cellular locations, and expression patterns, the functional repertoire of the Kv α subunit family is monumental. This versatility is amplified by a host of interacting proteins, including the single membrane-spanning KCNE ancillary subunits. Here, examining both the secretory and the endocytic pathways, we review recent findings illustrating the surprising virtuosity of the KCNE proteins in orchestrating not just the function, but also the composition, diaspora and retrieval of channels formed by their Kv α subunit partners.
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