Differential subcellular localization of the two alternatively spliced isoforms of the Kv3.1 potassium channel subunit in brain.

Voltage-gated K(+) channels containing pore-forming subunits of the Kv3 subfamily have specific roles in the fast repolarization of action potentials and enable neurons to fire repetitively at high frequencies. Each of the four known Kv3 genes encode multiple products by alternative splicing of 3' ends resulting in the expression of K(+) channel subunits differing only in their C-terminal sequence. The alternative splicing does not affect the electrophysiological properties of the channels, and its physiological role is unknown. It has been proposed that one of the functions of the alternative splicing of Kv3 genes is to produce subunit isoforms with differential subcellular membrane localizations in neurons and differential modulation by signaling pathways. We investigated the role of the alternative splicing of Kv3 subunits in subcellular localization by examining the brain distribution of the two alternatively spliced versions of the Kv3.1 gene (Kv3.1a and Kv3.1b) with antibodies specific for the alternative spliced C-termini. Kv3.1b proteins were prominently expressed in the somatic and proximal dendritic membrane of specific neuronal populations in the mouse brain. The axons of most of these neurons also expressed Kv3.1b protein. In contrast, Kv3.1a proteins were prominently expressed in the axons of some of the same neuronal populations, but there was little to no Kv3.1a protein expression in somatodendritic membrane. Exceptions to this pattern were seen in two neuronal populations with unusual targeting of axonal proteins, mitral cells of the olfactory bulb, and mesencephalic trigeminal neurons, which expressed Kv3.1a protein in dendritic and somatic membrane, respectively. The results support the hypothesis that the alternative spliced C-termini of Kv3 subunits regulate their subcellular targeting in neurons.