Disease relevance of KCNH3

• Surprisingly, BEC1, formerly thought to be brain-specific, was present in all the primary leukemias examined, in resting peripheral blood lymphocytes, and in proliferating activated tonsillar cells, lymphocytes from Sjögren's patients, and Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-cells [1].
• Moreover, we have detected helk2 mRNA and ELK2-like currents in freshly dissociated human astrocytoma cells [2].

High impact information on KCNH3

• We examined transcripts for Kv1.3, h-erg, h-eag, and BEC1 genes in primary lymphocytes and leukemias and in several hematopoietic cell lines [1].
• The BEC1 gene maps to the 12q13 region of the human genome [3].
• Transfection of mammalian L929 and Chinese hamster ovary cells with BEC1 cDNA induces a voltage-gated outward current with a fast inactivation component [3].
• KCNH8 was expressed at high levels, and the distribution showed substantial overlap with KCNH3 [4].
• Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression patterns showed that KCNH8, along with the other Elk family genes, KCNH3 and KCNH4, are primarily expressed in the human nervous system [4].

Biological context of KCNH3

• Thus, ELK2 channels are active within a wide range of membrane potentials, both sub- and suprathreshold [2].
• Overall, these properties suggest that ELK2 channels are very effective at dampening the neuronal excitability, but less so at producing adaptation of action potential firing frequency [2].

Anatomical context of KCNH3

• We find that aggregates of both peptides, as well as of A beta(1-42) and A beta(25-35), are toxic to cultured human cerebrovascular endothelial cells (hBEC) obtained from the brain of a victim of AD (at doses lower than those that are toxic to CNS neurons or leptomeningeal smooth muscle cells) [5].
• Expressional analyses for BEC-1 mRNA with real-time PCR and of BEC-1 protein by Western blotting demonstrated that both were dominantly expressed in the adipose tissues of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats [6].

Other interactions of KCNH3

• We analyzed and compared the differential expressions of BEC-1 (TUSC5) mRNA and protein in fat tissues between obese homozygous (fa/fa) and lean wild-type (+/+) Zucker rats [6].

References