Non-selective cation channel-2 family
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Members of the Non-Selective Cation Channel-2 (NSCC2) Family (TC#1.A.15) have been sequenced from various yeast, fungal and animals species including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila melanogaster and Homo sapiens.[1] These proteins are the Sec62 proteins, believed to be associated with the Sec61 and Sec63 constituents of the general protein secretory systems of yeast microsomes. They are also the non-selective (NS) cation channels of the mammalian cytoplasmic membrane.
NSCC2 channels are believed to provide entry pathways in response to growth factors.[2] The yeast Sec62 protein has been shown to be essential for cell growth. The mammalian NS channel proteins have been implicated in platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)-dependent single channel current in fibroblasts. These channels are essentially closed in serum deprived tissue-culture cells and are specifically opened by exposure to PDGF.
The channels are reported to exhibit equal selectivity for Na+ , K+ and Cs+ with low permeability to Ca2+ , and no permeability to anions. Channel open probability is voltage- and cytoplasmic Ca2+-independent.