Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily A member 4 also known as K
v1.4 is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNA4''
gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
.
It contributes to the
cardiac transient outward potassium current (I
to1), the main contributing current to the
repolarizing phase 1 of the cardiac action potential.
Description
Potassium channels represent the most complex class of voltage-gated ion channels from both functional and structural standpoints. Their diverse functions include regulating neurotransmitter release, heart rate, insulin secretion, neuronal excitability, epithelial electrolyte transport, smooth muscle contraction, and cell volume. Four sequence-related potassium channel genes - shaker, shaw, shab, and shal - have been identified in Drosophila, and each has been shown to have human homolog(s). This gene encodes a member of the potassium channel, voltage-gated, shaker-related subfamily. This member contains six membrane-spanning domains with a shaker-type repeat in the fourth segment. It belongs to the A-type potassium current class, the members of which may be important in the regulation of the fast repolarizing phase of action potentials in heart and thus may influence the duration of cardiac action potential. The coding region of this gene is intronless, and the gene is clustered with genes KCNA3 and KCNA10 on chromosome 1 in humans.
KCNA4 (Kv1.4) contains a tandem inactivation domain at the
N terminus
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
. It is composed of two subdomains. Inactivation domain 1 (ID1, residues 1-38) consists of a flexible N terminus anchored at a 5-turn
helix, and is thought to work by occluding the ion pathway, as is the case with a classical ball domain. Inactivation domain 2 (ID2, residues 40-50) is a 2.5 turn helix with a high proportion of hydrophobic residues that probably serves to attach ID1 to the
cytoplasmic
The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell and ...
face of the channel. In this way, it can promote rapid access of ID1 to the receptor site in the open channel. ID1 and ID2 function together to bring about fast inactivation of the Kv1.4 channel, which is important for the role of the channel in short-term plasticity.
Interactions
KCNA4 has been shown to
interact with
DLG4,
and
DLG1.
See also
* Voltage-gated potassium channel
Voltage-gated potassium channels (VGKCs) are potassium channel, transmembrane channels specific for potassium and Voltage-gated ion channel, sensitive to voltage changes in the cell's membrane potential. During action potentials, they play a ...
* Voltage-gated potassium-channel Kv1.4 IRES
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{InterPro content, IPR012897
Protein families
Ion channels