Roles of alternative splicing in the functional properties of inner ear-specific KCNQ4 channels.

The function of the KCNQ4 channel in the auditory setting is crucial to hearing, underpinned by the finding that mutations of the channel result in an autosomal dominant form of nonsyndromic progressive high frequency hearing loss. The precise function of KCNQ4 in the inner ear has not been established. However, recently we demonstrated that there is differential expression among four splice variants of KCNQ4 (KCNQ4_v1-v4) along the tonotopic axis of the cochlea.