Protein / target
A-type voltage-gated potassium channel KCND2
Protein at a glance
Biological role
A-type (transient outward) potassium channel
Strongest disease association
early-infantile DEE
Therapeutic position
Established drug target
Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.
Protein profile
Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.
Function overview
Voltage-gated potassium channel that mediates transmembrane potassium transport in excitable membranes, primarily in the brain.
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Voltage-gated potassium channel that mediates transmembrane potassium transport in excitable membranes, primarily in the brain. Mediates the major part of the dendritic A-type current I(SA) in brain neurons (By similarity). This current is activated at membrane potentials that are below the threshold for action potentials. It regulates neuronal excitability, prolongs the latency before the first spike in a series of action potentials, regulates the frequency of repetitive action potential firing, shortens the duration of action potentials and regulates the back-propagation of action potentials from the neuronal cell body to the dendrites. Contributes to the regulation of the circadian rhythm of action potential firing in suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons, which regulates the circadian rhythm of locomotor activity (By similarity). Functions downstream of the metabotropic glutamate receptor GRM5 and plays a role in neuronal excitability and in nociception mediated by activation of GRM5 (By similarity). Mediates the transient outward current I(to) in rodent heart left ventricle apex cells, but not in human heart, where this current is mediated by another family member. Forms tetrameric potassium-selective channels through which potassium ions pass in accordance with their electrochemical gradient (PubMed:10551270, PubMed:11507158, PubMed:14623880, PubMed:14695263, PubMed:14980201, PubMed:15454437, PubMed:16934482, PubMed:19171772, PubMed:24501278, PubMed:24811166, PubMed:34552243, PubMed:35597238). The channel alternates between opened and closed conformations in response to the voltage difference across the membrane (PubMed:11507158). Can form functional homotetrameric channels and heterotetrameric channels that contain variable proportions of KCND2 and KCND3; channel properties depend on the type of pore-forming alpha subunits that are part of the channel. In vivo, membranes probably contain a mixture of heteromeric potassium channel complexes. Interaction with specific isoforms of the regulatory subunits KCNIP1, KCNIP2, KCNIP3 or KCNIP4 strongly increases expression at the cell surface and thereby increases channel activity; it modulates the kinetics of channel activation and inactivation, shifts the threshold for channel activation to more negative voltage values, shifts the threshold for inactivation to less negative voltages and accelerates recovery after inactivation (PubMed:14623880, PubMed:14980201, PubMed:15454437, PubMed:19171772, PubMed:24501278, PubMed:24811166). Likewise, interaction with DPP6 or DPP10 promotes expression at the cell membrane and regulates both channel characteristics and activity (By similarity). Upon depolarization, the channel goes from a resting closed state (C state) to an activated but non-conducting state (C* state), from there, the channel may either inactivate (I state) or open (O state) (PubMed:35597238)
Subcellular location
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (27)Hide
Gene Ontology
- Canchoring junction
- Cdendritic spine
- CGABA-ergic synapse
- Cglutamatergic synapse
- Cneuronal cell body
- Cneuronal cell body membrane
- Cperikaryon
- Cplasma membrane
- Cplasma membrane raft
- Cpostsynaptic membrane
- Cpostsynaptic specialization membrane
- Cvoltage-gated potassium channel complex
Biological roles
What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.
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Synaptic signalling
- ·Synapse
- ·Postsynaptic cell membrane
- ·GABA-ergic synapse
- ·glutamatergic synapse
Ion channel gating
- ·voltage-gated monoatomic ion channel activity involved in regulation of postsynaptic mem…
- ·potassium ion transmembrane transport
Motor control
- ·Voltage-gated potassium channel that mediates transmembrane potassium transport in excit…
- ·locomotor rhythm
Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.
Approved medicines with mapped indications
Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.
5 medicines meet Open Targets' target-level approved-medicine definition; the 2 shown here are those on this page with a canonical approved disease indication in the graph. Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.
Drugs targeting this protein
How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.
Voltage-gated potassium channel blocker
Indicated for Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome
ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.
Translational evidence
Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.
Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene KCND2
Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene KCND2that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.
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The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.
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Drug development
6 compounds recorded · 5 approved · 1 in clinical development
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Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.
Tractability
Small molecules — Strong
Antibodies — Emerging
Protein degraders — Emerging
View underlying tractability evidence (7)Hide
Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.
Clinical trials
Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.
View all trials (26)Hide
ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.
What's happening now
Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for 2 drugs that target this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.
- Supplemental approval
Supplemental approval: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)
- Label change
Label change: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)
- Label change
Label change: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)
- Label change
Label change: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)
- Regulatory approval
Approval: Firdapse (previously Zenas) (EMA)
Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.