biostudies-literatureBhuiyan SAUniversity of British Columbia842https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12465193biostudies-literatureUnknown26(1)<h4>Background</h4>The degree to which alternative RNA splicing influences the function and structure of voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) splice variants is poorly understood. Here we used long-read RNA-sequencing to catalog rat Cacna1e (Cav2.3) splice variants, and computationally prioritize which are likely to impact channel function.<h4>Result</h4>We sequenced Cacna1e transcripts from rat thalamus using Oxford Nanopore sequencing yielding the structure of 2,110 Cacna1e splice variants. Of these, up to 154 had the potential encode for a functional channel based on predicted amino acid sequences. Our analysis revealed a total of 31 cassette splicing events (in various combinations) potentially affecting channel function, with three cassette exons appreciably expressed and conserved.<hBMC genomicsCataloging the potential functional diversity of Cacna1e splice variants using long-read sequencing.PMC12465193Michael Smith Laboratories KickstartPavlidis PSnutch TPBhuiyan SABelmadani MTyson JRSicherman JfalseCataloging the potential functional diversity of Cacna1e splice variants using long-read sequencing.<h4>Background</h4>The degree to which alternative RNA splicing influences the function and structure of voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) splice variants is poorly understood. Here we used long-read RNA-sequencing to catalog rat Cacna1e (Cav2.3) splice variants, and computationally prioritize which are likely to impact channel function.<h4>Result</h4>We sequenced Cacna1e transcripts from rat thalamus using Oxford Nanopore sequencing yielding the structure of 2,110 Cacna1e splice variants. Of these, up to 154 had the potential encode for a functional channel based on predicted amino acid sequences. Our analysis revealed a total of 31 cassette splicing events (in various combinations) potentially affecting channel function, with three cassette exons appreciably expressed and conserved.<h2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Sep2026-06-03T23:16:36.26Z2026-05-03T03:10:11.324ZS-EPMC124651934101318310.1186/s12864-025-11887-1