protein
Proteins are large biomolecule
, showing alpha helices, represented by ribbons. This poten was the first to have its suckture solved by X-ray crystallography by Max Perutz and Sir John Cowdery Kendrew in 1958, for which they received a No ...
that in humans is encoded by the Nav1.3 gene
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Physiology, physiological mecha ...
.
Function
Voltage-gated sodium channels aretransmembrane
A transmembrane protein (TP) is a type of integral membrane protein
An integral membrane protein (IMP) is a type of membrane protein
Membrane proteins are common proteins that are part of, or interact with, biological membranes. Membrane prot ...
glycoprotein
Glycoproteins are protein
Proteins are large s and s that comprise one or more long chains of . Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including , , , providing and , and from one location to another. Proteins dif ...
complexes composed of a large alpha subunit with 24 transmembrane domains and one or more regulatory beta subunits. They are responsible for the generation and propagation of action potential
In physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific
Science () is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity or awareness, of someone or something, such as facts
A fact is an occurrence ...
s in neurons and muscle. This gene encodes one member of the sodium channel alpha subunit gene family, and is found in a cluster of five alpha subunit genes on chromosome 2. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.
SCN3A is involved in folding the human cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of a ...
, a process called "gyrification
Gyrification is the process of forming the characteristic folds of the cerebral cortex. The peak of such a fold is called a gyrus
In neuroanatomy, a gyrus (pl. ''gyri'') is a ridge on the cerebral cortex. It is generally surrounded by one o ...
", and affects speech production brain areas.
See also
* Sodium channelReferences
Further reading
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *External links
* Sodium channels {{membrane-protein-stub