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Protein / target

A-type voltage-gated potassium channel KCND2

Encoded byKCND2Q9NZV8Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
5
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

A-type (transient outward) potassium channel

Strongest disease association

early-infantile DEE

Via encoding gene KCND2 · Genetic evidence · score 0.86

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Small molecules

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

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.

View complete UniProt function annotation

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

Cell membraneCell projection, dendriteSynapsePerikaryonPostsynaptic cell membraneCell projection, dendritic spineCell junction
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (27)

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

630 aa · 71 kDa

Biological roles

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Synaptic signallingUniProt · GOIon channel gatingGOMotor controlUniProt · GO
View supporting evidence

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

2 medicines · 2 areas

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.

Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome1 medicine
Multiple Sclerosis1 medicine

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

2

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.

dalfampridine
ApprovedBlocker

Voltage-gated potassium channel blocker

Indicated for Multiple Sclerosis

Acts on a complex — shared with KCNC4, KCNC3, KCNB1 +36 more · 1 of 40 recorded protein targets — broad pharmacology

amifampridine
ApprovedBlocker

Voltage-gated potassium channel blocker

Indicated for Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome

Acts on a complex — shared with KCNC4, KCNC3, KCNB1 +36 more · 1 of 40 recorded protein targets — broad pharmacology

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

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.

early-infantile DEE
0.86Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.52

Genetic Diseases, Inborn
0.74Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.45

Smoking initiation
0.63Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.38

View evidence synthesis (3)
early-infantile DEEWell supported
0.86
agreement 0.740.98
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.52 · 1 independent evidence family

Genetic Diseases, InbornModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.620.86
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.45 · 1 independent evidence family

Smoking initiationModerately supported
0.63
agreement 0.510.75
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.38 · 1 independent evidence family

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.

Show all associations
early-infantile DEE0.52
Genetic Diseases, Inborn0.45
Smoking initiation0.38

Drug development

6 compounds recorded · 5 approved · 1 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 2 drugs that target this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (2 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (6)
GUANIDINE HYDROCHLORIDEApproval
AMIFAMPRIDINE PHOSPHATEApproval
TEDISAMILApproval
AMIFAMPRIDINEApproval
NERISPIRDINEPhase 2
DALFAMPRIDINEApproval

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 moleculesStrong

Approved Drug and Druggable Family support this modality.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf and go cc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (half-life data) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

View underlying tractability evidence (7)
SM · Approved DrugSM · Druggable FamilyAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high confAB · UniProt loc med confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMPR · Half-life Data

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

30

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)

RECRUITING · via dalfampridine · NCT06333171

RECRUITING · via dalfampridine · NCT06853015

TERMINATED · via dalfampridine · NCT04026568

COMPLETED · via dalfampridine · NCT02006160

COMPLETED · via dalfampridine · NCT01444300

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

6

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.

  1. Supplemental approval2026-08-10

    Supplemental approval: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dalfampridine

  2. Label change2023-04-11

    Label change: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dalfampridine

  3. Label change2021-09-15

    Label change: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dalfampridine

  4. Label change2020-08-14

    Label change: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dalfampridine

  5. Regulatory approval2019-03-11

    Approval: DALFAMPRIDINE (ANDA210158)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dalfampridine

  6. Regulatory approval2009-12-23

    Approval: Firdapse (previously Zenas) (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via amifampridine

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.