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Updated: May 7, 2026

Profiling Voltage-gated Potassium Channel mRNA Expression in Nigral Neurons using Single-cell RT-PCR Techniques
Published on: September 27, 2011
Voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 is highly expressed in human osteosarcoma and promotes osteosarcoma growth
Jin Wu1, Daixing Zhong, Xinyu Wu
1Department of Orthopaedics, the Affiliated Southeast Hospital of Xiamen University, Zhangzhou 363000, China. klq13709395786@163.com.
Abstract:
Deregulation of voltage-gated potassium channel subunit Kv1.3 has been reported in many tumors. Kv1.3 promotes tumorigenesis by enhancing cell proliferation while suppressing apoptosis. However, the expression and function of Kv1.3 in osteosarcoma are unknown. In the present study, we detected the expression of Kv1.3 in human osteosarcoma cells and tissues by RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. We further examined cell proliferation and apoptosis in osteosarcoma MG-63 cells and xenografts following knockdown of Kv1.3 by short hairpin RNA (shRNA). We found that Kv1.3 was upregulated in human osteosarcoma. Knockdown of Kv1.3 significantly suppressed cell proliferation and increased apoptosis as demonstrated by enhanced cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and the activation of Caspase-3/7. Furthermore, adenovirus delivered shRNA targeting Kv1.3 significantly inhibited the growth of MG-63 xenografts. Taken together, our results suggest that Kv1.3 is a novel molecular target for osterosarcoma therapy.
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