Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily C member 1 is a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the KCNC1 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

The Shaker gene family of Drosophila

Drosophila

Drosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit...

encodes components of voltage-gated potassium channel

Voltage-gated potassium channel

Voltage-gated potassium channels are transmembrane channels specific for potassium and sensitive to voltage changes in the cell's membrane potential. During action potentials, they play a crucial role in returning the depolarized cell to a resting state....

s and comprises four subfamilies. Based on sequence similarity, this gene is similar to one of these subfamilies, namely the Shaw subfamily. The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the delayed rectifier class of channel proteins and is an integral membrane protein that mediates the voltage-dependent potassium ion permeability of excitable membranes.

Expression pattern

K_v3.1 and K_v3.2 channels are prominently expressed in neuron

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

s that fire at high frequency. K_v3.1 channels are prominently expressed in brain (cerebellum

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control. It may also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language, and in regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established...

 > globus pallidus

Globus pallidus

The globus pallidus also known as paleostriatum, is a sub-cortical structure of the brain. Topographically, it is part of the telencephalon, but retains close functional ties with the subthalamus - both of which are part of the extrapyramidal motor system...

, subthalamic nucleus

Subthalamic nucleus

The subthalamic nucleus is a small lens-shaped nucleus in the brain where it is, from a functional point of view, part of the basal ganglia system. Anatomically, it is the major part of subthalamus. As suggested by its name, the subthalamic nucleus is located ventral to the thalamus. It is also...

, substantia nigra

Substantia nigra

The substantia nigra is a brain structure located in the mesencephalon that plays an important role in reward, addiction, and movement. Substantia nigra is Latin for "black substance", as parts of the substantia nigra appear darker than neighboring areas due to high levels of melanin in...

 > reticular thalamic nuclei, cortical

Cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex is a sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is constituted of up to six horizontal layers, each of which has a different...

 and hippocampal

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...

 interneuron

Interneuron

An interneuron is a multipolar neuron which connects afferent neurons and efferent neurons in neural pathways...

s > inferior colliculi

Inferior colliculus

The inferior colliculus is the principal midbrain nucleus of the auditory pathway and receives input from several more peripheral brainstem nuclei in the auditory pathway, as well as inputs from the auditory cortex...

, cochlear

Cochlear nuclei

The cochlear nuclei are two heterogeneous collections of neurons in the mammalian brainstem that receive input from the cochlear nerve, which carry sound information from the cochleae...

 and vestibular

Vestibular nuclei

The vestibular nuclei are the cranial nuclei for the vestibular nerve.In Terminologia Anatomica they are grouped in both the pons and medulla.-Subnuclei:There are 4 subnuclei; they are situated at the floor of the fourth ventricle....

 nuclei), and in retinal ganglion cells.

Physiological role

K_v3.1/K_v3.2 conductance is necessary and kinetically optimized for high-frequency action potential generation. K_v3.1 channels are important for the high-firing frequency of auditory and fast-spiking GABAergic interneurons, retinal ganglion cells; regulation of action potential

Action potential

In physiology, an action potential is a short-lasting event in which the electrical membrane potential of a cell rapidly rises and falls, following a consistent trajectory. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, called excitable cells, which include neurons, muscle cells, and...

 duration in presynaptic

Chemical synapse

Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous system. They are crucial to the biological computations that underlie...

 terminals.

Pharmacological properties

K_v3.1 currents in heterologous

Heterologous

In medicine a heterologous transplant means 'between species' or 'from one species to another'.In cell biology and protein biochemistry, heterologous expression means that a protein is experimentally put into a cell that does not normally make that protein...

 systems are highly sensitive to external tetraethylammonium

Tetraethylammonium

Tetraethylammonium is a quaternary ammonium cation consisting of four ethyl groups attached to a central nitrogen atom. Like other members of its class, it can be used to alter a compound's solubility by displacing hard acids with this comparatively softer acid...

 (TEA) or 4-aminopyridine

4-Aminopyridine

4-Aminopyridine is an organic compound with the chemical formula C5H4N–NH2. The molecule is one of the three isomeric amines of pyridine...

 (4-AP) (IC₅₀ values are 0.2 mM and 29 μM respectively). This can be useful in identifying native channels. The overlapping sensitivity of potassium current to both 0.5 mM TEA and 30 μM 4-AP strongly suggest an action on K_v3.1 subunits.

Transcript variants

There are two transcript variants

Alternative splicing

Alternative splicing is a process by which the exons of the RNA produced by transcription of a gene are reconnected in multiple ways during RNA splicing...

 of K_v3.1 gene: K_v3.1a and K_v3.1b. K_v3.1 isoforms differ only in their C-terminal sequence.

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