KCNQ potassium channels in sensory system and neural circuits

Neuronal KCNQ potassium channels: physiology and role in disease.

Humans have over 70 potassium channel genes, but only some of these have been linked to disease. In this respect, the KCNQ family of potassium channels is exceptional: mutations in four out of five KCNQ genes underlie diseases including cardiac arrhythmias, deafness and epilepsy. These disorders illustrate the different physiological functions of KCNQ channels, and provide a model for the study...

Small Molecule Investigation of KCNQ Potassium Channels: A Dissertation

Voltage-gated K channels associate with multiple regulatory proteins to form complexes with diverse gating properties and pharmacological sensitivities. Small molecules which activate or inhibit channel function are valuable tools for dissecting the assembly and function of these macromolecular complexes. My thesis focuses on the discovery and use of small molecules to probe the structure and f...

KCNQ potassium channels modulate sensitivity of skin D-hair mechanoreceptors

O3: Pharmacological Modulation of Thalamic KCNQ-Potassium Channels: Insight from Knock-out Mice

The channels belonging to the KCNQ gene family consist of 5 different subtypes, which assemble as pentameric channels. The KCNQ2-5 subunits are highly expressed in the ventrobasal thalamus (VB) where they function primarily as KCNQ2/3 heteromers. They underlie an outward potassium (K+)-current, called M-current (IM), which provides a hyperpolarizing drive, thus regulating neuronal excitability....

KCNQ modulators reveal a key role for KCNQ potassium channels in regulating the tone of rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle.

Potassium channels are central to the regulation of pulmonary vascular tone. The smooth muscle cells of pulmonary artery display a background K(+) conductance with biophysical properties resembling those of KCNQ (K(V)7) potassium channels. Therefore, we investigated the expression and functional role of KCNQ channels in pulmonary artery. The effects of selective KCNQ channel modulators were inv...