Voltage-gated sodium channels are a class of specialized proteins that produce and propagate electrical impulses in the
membranes of excitable cells. Aberrant expression patterns or mutations of alpha subunits of these channels underlie a
number of disorders. Each alpha subunit consists of 4 domains connected by 3 intracellular loops; each domain consists of 6
transmembrane segments and intra- and extracellular linkers.
General function
Channel/transport protein
Comment
Ogata K et al cloned a tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunit from a mouse cDNA library
and designated it as NaT. It encodes 1765 amino acid residues and is virtually identical to that of Scn11a, which has been
reported recently, except for 40 nt and 14 aa substitutions. The amino acid identity of NaT/Scn11a with rat NaN/SNS2 is
88%. While rat
NaN/SNS2 has been reported to be expressed specifically in the peripheral sensory neurons, NaT/Scn11a is expressed not
only in the peripheral sensory neurons but also in the spinal cord, uterus, testis, ovary, placenta, and small intestine. NaT is
detectable in mouse embryos 15 days postcoitus (p.c.), around the phase of organogenesis and gonadal differentiation.
Cellular localization
Plasma membrane
Comment
Ovarian function
Comment
Expression regulated by
Comment
Ovarian localization
Comment
This gene was found in a rat ovarian cDNA library (Unigene)