KCNH1


Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily H member 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the KCNH1 gene.
Voltage-gated 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. This gene encodes a member of the potassium channel, voltage-gated, subfamily H. This member is a pore-forming subunit of a voltage-gated non-inactivating delayed rectifier potassium channel. It is activated at the onset of myoblast differentiation. The gene is highly expressed in brain and in myoblasts. Overexpression of the gene may confer a growth advantage to cancer cells and favor tumor cell proliferation. Alternative splicing of this gene results in two transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms.

Interactions

KCNH1 has been shown to interact with KCNB1.

Pathologies

A recent study has shown that de novo missense mutations in the KCNH1 gene results in deleterious gain of function, resulting in a multisystem developmental disorder known as Temple-Baraitser syndrome. TBS is categorized by intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, and aplasia of the nails. Simons et al. suggested that mutational mosaicism present in the mothers of some probands was responsible for their children's TBS phenotype. This is further evidence of the role that genetic mosaicism plays in the etiology of neurological disorders.