KV3.1 is a voltage-gated potassium channel encoded by the KCNC1 gene. Mutations in the KV3.1 protein can manifest as a variety of neurological disorders including myoclonic epilepsy and ataxia due to K+ channel mutation (MEAK), developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), or hypotonia.
The KCNC1 Foundation was founded by the parents of Eliana, a child from Canada who was diagnosed with an ultra-rare de novo mutation (V434L) in the KCNC1 gene, which encodes the KV3.1 ion channel in humans, at age 9 months. Eliana does not display typical DEE, but exhibits significant hypotonia, cortical-visual impairment, vertical nystagmus, and global delays. The KCNC1 Foundation has registered 36 patients affected by 14 different genetic variants in the KCNC1 gene. Of these patients, 25% share the A421V variant, 12.5% have MEAK caused by the R320H variant, a few exhibit the V432M variant, and the remaining variants are seen in 1 – 3 patients.
Optical voltage imaging of human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes was used to assess electrophysiological effects of compounds beyond hERG inhibition. Action potential waveform analysis revealed compound-specific and concentration-dependent changes, enabling mechanistic differentiation of multichannel activity and demonstrating a human-relevant approach for translational cardiac safety assessment.
The presence of sensory neuron markers, excitability properties consistent with sensory neurons, and evidence of nociceptor ion channels (using both RNASeq and electrophysiology) provides strong evidence that iCell Sensory Neurons have a robust sensory neuron phenotype suitable for supporting pain discovery programs.