New ether-a-go-go K+ channel family members localized in human telencephalon

A cDNA encoding a novel voltage-gated K+ channel protein was isolated from human brain. This protein, termed BEC1, is 46% identical to rat elk in the ether-a-go-go K+ channel family. The BEC1 gene maps to the 12q13 region of the human genome. Northern blot analysis indicates that BEC1 is exclusively expressed in human brain, where the expression is concentrated in the tele ncephalic areas such as the cerebral cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, and str iatum, By in situ hybridization, BEC1 is detected in the CA1-CA3 pyramidal cell layers and the dentate gyrus granule cell layers of the hippocampus. S pecific signals are also found in neocortical neurons. Transfection of mamm alian L929 and Chinese hamster ovary cells with BEC1 cDNA induces a voltage -gated outward current with a fast inactivation component. This current is insensitive to tetraethylammonium and quinidine, Additionally, a second rel ated gene BEC2 was isolated from human brain. BEC2 is also brain specific, located in the neocortex and the striatum, and functional as a channel gene . Phylogenetic analysis indicates that BEC1 and BEC2 constitute a subfamily , together with elh, in the ether-a-go-go family. The two genes may be invo lved in cellular excitability of restricted neurons in the human central ne rvous system.