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 KCNQ4gene.[5][6][7]
The protein encoded by this gene forms a potassium channel that is thought to play a critical role in the regulation of neuronal excitability, particularly in sensory cells of the cochlea. The encoded protein can form a homomultimeric potassium channel or possibly a heteromultimeric channel in association with the protein encoded by the KCNQ3 gene.[7]
The current generated by this channel is inhibited by muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M1 and activated by retigabine, a novel anti-convulsant drug. Defects in this gene are a cause of nonsyndromic sensorineural deafness type 2 (DFNA2), an autosomal dominant form of progressive hearing loss. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.[7]
Beisel KW, Nelson NC, Delimont DC, Fritzsch B (2001). "Longitudinal gradients of KCNQ4 expression in spiral ganglion and cochlear hair cells correlate with progressive hearing loss in DFNA2". Brain Res. Mol. Brain Res. 82 (1–2): 137–49. doi:10.1016/S0169-328X(00)00204-7. PMID11042367.
Søgaard R, Ljungstrøm T, Pedersen KA, et al. (2001). "KCNQ4 channels expressed in mammalian cells: functional characteristics and pharmacology". Am. J. Physiol., Cell Physiol. 280 (4): C859–66. doi:10.1152/ajpcell.2001.280.4.C859. PMID11245603. S2CID7891527.
Stern RE, Lalwani AK (2003). "Audiologic evidence for further genetic heterogeneity at DFNA2". Acta Otolaryngol. 122 (7): 730–5. doi:10.1080/003655402/000028059. PMID12484650.
Van Laer L, Carlsson PI, Ottschytsch N, et al. (2006). "The contribution of genes involved in potassium-recycling in the inner ear to noise-induced hearing loss". Hum. Mutat. 27 (8): 786–95. doi:10.1002/humu.20360. PMID16823764. S2CID25357017.
Van Eyken E, Van Laer L, Fransen E, et al. (2006). "KCNQ4: a gene for age-related hearing impairment?". Hum. Mutat. 27 (10): 1007–16. doi:10.1002/humu.20375. PMID16917933. S2CID8912727.
Su CC, Yang JJ, Shieh JC, et al. (2007). "Identification of novel mutations in the KCNQ4 gene of patients with nonsyndromic deafness from Taiwan". Audiol. Neurootol. 12 (1): 20–6. doi:10.1159/000096154. PMID17033161. S2CID25256223.
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