Potassium Large Conductance Calcium Activated Channel Subfamily M Alpha 1 (KCNMa1)

K_Ca1.1 channels are large conductance, voltage and calcium-sensitive potassium channels which are fundamental to the control of smooth muscle tone and neuronal excitability. K_Ca1.1 channels can be formed by 2 subunits: the pore-forming alpha subunit, which is the product of the KCNMA1 gene, and one of four modulatory beta subunits. Intracellular calcium regulates the physical association between the alpha and beta subunits. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been identified.human and mouse homologs of the Drosophila gene and demonstrated that the encoded polypeptides have more than 50% amino acid identity with their Drosophila counterparts. In addition, like the Drosophila 'slowpoke' gene, both the mouse and the human genes generate multiple transcripts by alternative splicing.