The Shaw-related potassium channel gene, Kv3.1, on human chromosome 11, encodes the type l K+ channel in T cells.
T lymphocytes exhibit three distinct types of voltage-gated K+ channels, n, n', and l, that are distributed in the T cell lineage according to subset, as well as the cells' activation and developmental status. Type l K+ channels are found sparingly in cytotoxic T cells from normal mice and abundantly in a specific T cell subset (CD4- CD8- Thy1+) from mice with autoimmune disease. Here, we show that the mouse Kv3.1 gene, when expressed in Xenopus oocytes, encodes a channel with properties remarkably similar to those of the l-type channel. Kv3.1 transcripts were found in T cells isolated from the lymph nodes of MRL-lpr mice with systemic lupus erythematosus and in a human lymphoma cell line that also expresses the l channel phenotype. By these criteria, we conclude that Kv3.1 encodes the voltage-gated type l K+ channel in lymphocytes. The Kv3.1 gene maps to human chromosome 11; the related Kv1.1 and Kv3.2 genes are localized on human chromosome 12, while the IsK gene maps to human chromosome 21.
Grissmer
S
S
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine 92715.
Ghanshani
S
S
Dethlefs
B
B
McPherson
J D
JD
Wasmuth
J J
JJ
Gutman
G A
GA
Cahalan
M D
MD
Chandy
K G
KG
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D051670:Shaw Potassium Channels; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D014981:Xenopus
D009479:Neuropeptides; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D015221:Potassium Channels; D024642:Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051670:Shaw Potassium Channels; D004247:DNA