KCNMB4: Proteins and Enzymes

KCNMB4, also known as Calcium-activated potassium channel subunit beta-4, is a 210 amino acid protein that is 34 kDa; predominantly expressed in brain; regulatory subunit of the calcium activated potassium KCNMA1 (maxiK) channels which are fundamental to the control of smooth muscle tone and neuronal excitability; is an auxiliary beta subunit which slows activation kinetics, leads to steeper calcium sensitivity, and shifts the voltage range of current activation to more negative potentials than does the beta 1 subunit. Current research is being pursued on this protein involvement in several diseases and disorders including neurological disorder, corpus callosum, epilepsy syndrome, seizures, neuronitis, and cerebritis. This protein has been linked to the hemostasis, potassium channels, Ca2+ activated K+ channels, cGMP effects, platelet homeostasis, synaptic transmission- ion currents, and vascular smooth muscle contraction.