Genomic Organization and Chromosomal Assignment of the Human Voltage-Gated Na+ Channel β1 Subunit Gene (SCN1B)

Naomasa Makita, Karen Sloan-Brown, Danielle O. Weghuis, Hans H. Ropers, Alfred L. George*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Scopus citations

Abstract

Voltage-gated sodium (Na+) channels are essential for the generation and propagation of action potentials in striated muscle and neuronal tissues. Biochemically, Na+ channels consist of a large α subunit and one or two smaller β subunits. The α subunit alone can exhibit all of the functional attributes of a voltage-gated Na+ channel, but requires a β1 subunit for normal inactivation kinetics. While genetic mutations in the skeletal muscle Na+ channel α-subunit gene can cause human disease, it is not known whether hereditary defects in the β1 subunit underlie any inherited syndromes. To help explore this further, we have carried out an analysis of the detailed structure of the human β1 subunit gene (SCN1B) including the delineation of intron-exon boundaries hy genomic DNA cloning and sequence analysis. The complete coding region of SCN1B is found in ∼9.0 kb of genomic DNA and consists of five exons (72 to 749 bp) and four introns (90 bp to 5.5 kb). Using a 15.9-kb genomic SCN1B clone, we assigned the gene to the long arm of chromosome 19 (19q13.1-q13.2) by fluorescence in situ hybridization. An intragenic polymorphic (TTA)n repeat that is positioned between two tandem Alu repetitive sequences was also characterized. The (TTA)n repeat exhibits 5 distinct alleles and a heterozygosity index of 0.59. This information should be useful in evaluating SCN1B as a candidate gene for hereditary disorders affecting membrane excitability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)628-634
Number of pages7
JournalGenomics
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1994

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics

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