BTB (Broad-Complex, Tramtrack and Bric a brac)/POZ (poxvirus and zinc finger) domain found in potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily V member 1 (KCNV1)
KCNV1, also called neuronal potassium channel alpha subunit HNKA or voltage-gated potassium channel subunit Kv8.1, is a new neuronal voltage-gated potassium channel alpha subunit with specific inhibitory properties towards Shab and Shaw channels. It modulates KCNB1 (also known as Kv2.1) and KCNB2 (also known as Kv2.2) channel activity by shifting the threshold for inactivation to more negative values and by slowing the rate of inactivation. It can also down-regulate the channel activity of KCNB1, KCNB2, KCNC4 (also known as Kv3.4) and KCND1 (also known as Kv4.1), possibly by trapping them in intracellular membranes. Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels are composed of alpha subunits, which form the actual conductance pore, and cytoplasmic beta subunits, which are auxiliary proteins that associate with alpha subunits to modulate the activity of the Kv channel. KCNV1 is a regulatory alpha subunit that cannot form a functional homo-tetrameric channel. It forms hetero-tetrameric channels (with other functional alpha subunits) through its BTB/POZ domain, also known as tetramerization (T1) domain, which is a versatile protein-protein interaction motif.