• Wei Wang, Xiao-Fei Gao, Lin Xiao, Zheng-Hua Xiang, and Cheng He.
• Institute of Neuroscience and Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology of the Ministry of Education, Neuroscience Research Center of Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
• Plos One. 2011 Jan 1;6(7):e21792.

BackgroundK(V)7/KCNQ channels are widely expressed in neurons and they have multiple important functions, including control of excitability, spike afterpotentials, adaptation, and theta resonance. Mutations in KCNQ genes have been demonstrated to associate with human neurological pathologies. However, little is known about whether K(V)7/KCNQ channels are expressed in oligodendrocyte lineage cells (OLCs) and what their functions in OLCs.Methods And FindingsIn this study, we characterized K(V)7/KCNQ channels expression in rat primary cultured OLCs by RT-PCR, immunostaining and electrophysiology. KCNQ2-5 mRNAs existed in all three developmental stages of rat primary cultured OLCs. K(V)7/KCNQ proteins were also detected in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs, early developmental stages of OLCs) of rat primary cultures and cortex slices. Voltage-clamp recording revealed that the I(M) antagonist XE991 significantly reduced K(V)7/KCNQ channel current (I(K(Q))) in OPCs but not in differentiated oligodendrocytes. In addition, inhibition of K(V)7/KCNQ channels promoted OPCs motility in vitro.ConclusionsThese findings showed that K(V)7/KCNQ channels were functionally expressed in rat primary cultured OLCs and might play an important role in OPCs functioning in physiological or pathological conditions.

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