KCNQ genes encode family members of the Kv7 potassium channel family. These include K_v7.1 (

KCNQ1 Kv7.1 (KvLQT1) is a potassium channel protein whose primary subunit in humans is encoded by the ''KCNQ1'' gene. Its mutation causes Long QT syndrome, Kv7.1 is a voltage and lipid-gated potassium channel present in the cell membranes of cardi ...

) - KvLQT1, K_v7.2 ( KCNQ2), K_v7.3 ( KCNQ3), K_v7.4 (

KCNQ4 Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily KQT member 4, also known as voltage-gated potassium channel subunit Kv7.4, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNQ4'' gene. Function The protein encoded by this gene forms a potassium chan ...

), and K_v7.5 (

KCNQ5 Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily KQT member 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KCNQ5'' gene. This gene is a member of the KCNQ potassium channel gene family that is differentially expressed in subregions of the brain and i ...

). Four of these (KCNQ2-5) are expressed in the nervous system. They constitute a group of low-threshold voltage-gated K⁺ channels originally termed the ‘M-channel’ (see M-current). The M-channel name comes from the classically described mechanism wherein the activation of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor deactivated this channel.

References

Potassium channels Ion channels {{Molecular-biology-stub