KCNQ channels

KCNQ genes encode family members of the Kv7 potassium channel family. These include K_v7.1 (KCNQ1) - KvLQT1, K_v7.2 (KCNQ2), K_v7.3 (KCNQ3), K_v7.4 (KCNQ4), and K_v7.5 (KCNQ5). Four of these (KCNQ2-5) are expressed in the nervous system. They constitute a group of low-threshold voltage-gated K⁺ channels originally termed the ‘M-channel’ (see M-current). The M-channel name comes from the classically described mechanism wherein the activation of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor deactivated this channel.{{Cite journal|last=Brown|first=David A|last2=Passmore|first2=Gayle M|date=April 2009|title=Neural KCNQ (Kv7) channels|journal=British Journal of Pharmacology|volume=156|issue=8|pages=1185–1195|doi=10.1111/j.1476-5381.2009.00111.x|issn=0007-1188|pmc=2697739|pmid=19298256}}