Identification of KCNE6, a new member of the KCNE family of potassium channel auxiliary subunits.

ABSTRACT: The KCNE family (KCNE1-5) is a group of single transmembrane auxiliary subunits for the voltage-gated K⁺ channel KCNQ1. The KCNQ1-KCNE complexes are crucial for numerous physiological processes including ventricular repolarization and K⁺ recycling in epithelial cells. We identified a new member of the KCNE family, "KCNE6", from zebrafish. We found that KCNE6 is expressed in the zebrafish heart and is involved in cardiac excitability. When co-expressed with KCNQ1, KCNE6 produces a slowly activating current like the slow delayed-rectifier K⁺ current (I_Ks) induced by KCNE1, despite the fact that the KCNE6 amino acid sequence has the highest similarity to that of KCNE3, which forms a constitutively open channel with KCNQ1. The kcne6 nucleotide sequen

SUBMITTER: Kasuya G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11659587 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature