Voltage-gated Kv1.1 potassium channel α-subunits are broadly expressed in the nervous system where they act as critical regulators of neuronal excitability. Mutations in the KCNA1 gene, which encodes Kv1.1, are associated with the neurological diseases episodic ataxia and epilepsy. Studies in mouse models have shown that Kv1.1 is important for neural control of the heart and that Kcna1 deletion leads to cardiac dysfunction that appears to be brain-driven. Traditionally, KCNA1 was not believed to be expressed in the heart. However, recent studies have revealed that Kv1.1 subunits are not only present in cardiomyocytes, but that they also make an important heart-intrinsic functional contribution to outward K⁺ currents and action potential repolarization. This review recounts the winding history of discovery of KCNA1 gene expression and neurocardiac function from fruit flies to mammals and from brain to heart and looks at some of the salient questions that remain to be answered regarding emerging cardiac roles of Kv1.1.

电压门控性Kv1.1钾通道α亚基在神经系统中广泛表达，在神经系统中它们充当神经元兴奋性的关键调节剂。编码Kv1.1的KCNA1基因突变与神经系统疾病发作性共济失调和癫痫有关。小鼠模型研究表明，Kv1.1对于心脏的神经控制很重要，Kcna1缺失会导致似乎由脑驱动的心脏功能障碍。传统上，人们不认为KCNA1在心脏中表达。但是，最近的研究表明，Kv1.1亚基不仅存在于心肌细胞中，而且它们还对向外的K ⁺起重要的内在功能性作用电流和动作电位复极。这篇综述叙述了从果蝇到哺乳动物以及从大脑到心脏的KCNA1基因表达和神经心功能发现的历史，并探讨了关于Kv1.1新兴心脏作用尚待回答的一些重要问题。