calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C
Last updated 13 Mar 2023
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The CACNA1C gene provides instructions for making one of several calcium channels. Calcium channels, which transport positively charged calcium atoms (calcium ions) into cells, play a key role in a cell's ability to generate electrical signals. Calcium ions are important for many cellular functions, including regulating the electrical activity of cells, cell-to-cell communication, the tensing of muscle fibers (muscle contraction), and the regulation of certain genes, particularly those involved in the development of the brain and bones before birth.
Normal function
The CACNA1C gene provides instructions for making one of several calcium channels. Calcium channels, which transport positively charged calcium atoms (calcium ions) into cells, play a key role in a cell's ability to generate electrical signals. Calcium ions are important for many cellular functions, including regulating the electrical activity of cells, cell-to-cell communication, the tensing of muscle fibers (muscle contraction), and the regulation of certain genes, particularly those involved in the development of the brain and bones before birth.
The calcium channel produced from the CACNA1C gene is known as CaV1.2. These channels are found in many types of cells, although they appear to be particularly important for the function of heart cells (cardiomyocytes) and nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. In the heart, CaV1.2 channels open and close at specific times to control the flow of calcium ions into cardiomyocytes at each heartbeat. How long the channels are open and closed is regulated to maintain normal heart function. In the brain, CaV1.2 channels are thought to be involved in memory, the fear response, and the rapid transmission of nerve signals; however, the role of these channels in the brain and other tissues is not completely understood.
Researchers have discovered that many different versions (isoforms) of the CaV1.2 channel can be produced from the CACNA1C gene by a mechanism called alternative splicing. This mechanism produces different versions of the channel by cutting and rearranging the genetic instructions in different ways. Some versions of the CaV1.2 channel are more common than others in certain parts of the body. For example, in the heart and brain, about 80 percent of CaV1.2 channels are made with a particular segment known as exon 8. The other 20 percent of CaV1.2 channels contain a slightly different version of this segment, known as exon 8A. This difference becomes important when researchers are studying the effects of CACNA1C mutations in various tissues.
Conditions referring to this gene or chromosome
Other names
CAC1C_HUMAN
CACH2
CACN2
CACNL1A1
calcium channel, cardic dihydropyridine-sensitive, alpha-1 subunit
calcium channel, L type, alpha 1 polypeptide, isoform 1, cardic muscle
calcium channel, voltage-dependent, L type, alpha 1C subunit
CaV1.2
CCHL1A1
DHPR, alpha-1 subunit
MGC120730
voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel alpha 1C subunit
voltage-gated calcium channel alpha subunit Cav1.2
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Further reading and references
- calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 C; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Bozarth X, Dines JN, Cong Q, Mirzaa GM, Foss K, Lawrence Merritt J 2nd, Thies J, Mefford HC, Novotny E. Expanding clinical phenotype in CACNA1C related disorders: From neonatal onset severe epileptic encephalopathy to late-onset epilepsy. Am J Med Genet A. 2018 Dec;176(12):2733-2739. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.40657. Epub 2018 Dec 4.
- Fukuyama M, Wang Q, Kato K, Ohno S, Ding WG, Toyoda F, Itoh H, Kimura H, Makiyama T, Ito M, Matsuura H, Horie M. Long QT syndrome type 8: novel CACNA1C mutations causing QT prolongation and variant phenotypes. Europace. 2014 Dec;16(12):1828-37. doi: 10.1093/europace/euu063. Epub 2014 Apr 12.
- Gardner RJM, Crozier IG, Binfield AL, Love DR, Lehnert K, Gibson K, Lintott CJ, Snell RG, Jacobsen JC, Jones PP, Waddell-Smith KE, Kennedy MA, Skinner JR. Penetrance and expressivity of the R858H CACNA1C variant in a five-generation pedigree segregating an arrhythmogenic channelopathy. Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2019 Jan;7(1):e00476. doi: 10.1002/mgg3.476. Epub 2018 Oct 21.
- Liao P, Yong TF, Liang MC, Yue DT, Soong TW. Splicing for alternative structures of Cav1.2 Ca2+ channels in cardiac and smooth muscles. Cardiovasc Res. 2005 Nov 1;68(2):197-203. doi: 10.1016/j.cardiores.2005.06.024. Epub 2005 Jul 27.
- Napolitano C, Antzelevitch C. Phenotypical manifestations of mutations in the genes encoding subunits of the cardiac voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel. Circ Res. 2011 Mar 4;108(5):607-18. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.110.224279.
- Napolitano C, Priori SG. CACNA1C-Related Disorders. 2006 Feb 15 [updated 2025 Sep 18]. In: Adam MP, Bick S, Mirzaa GM, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2026. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1403/
- Paar V, Jirak P, Larbig R, Zagidullin NS, Brandt MC, Lichtenauer M, Hoppe UC, Motloch LJ. Pathophysiology of Calcium Mediated Ventricular Arrhythmias and Novel Therapeutic Options with Focus on Gene Therapy. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Oct 24;20(21):5304. doi: 10.3390/ijms20215304.
- Rodan LH, Spillmann RC, Kurata HT, Lamothe SM, Maghera J, Jamra RA, Alkelai A, Antonarakis SE, Atallah I, Bar-Yosef O, Bilan F, Bjorgo K, Blanc X, Van Bogaert P, Bolkier Y, Burrage LC, Christ BU, Granadillo JL, Dickson P, Donald KA, Dubourg C, Eliyahu A, Emrick L, Engleman K, Gonfiantini MV, Good JM, Kalser J, Kloeckner C, Lachmeijer G, Macchiaiolo M, Nicita F, Odent S, O'Heir E, Ortiz-Gonzalez X, Pacio-Miguez M, Palomares-Bralo M, Pena L, Platzer K, Quinodoz M, Ranza E, Rosenfeld JA, Roulet-Perez E, Santani A, Santos-Simarro F, Pode-Shakked B, Skraban C, Slaugh R, Superti-Furga A, Thiffault I, van Jaabrsveld RH, Vincent M, Wang HG, Zacher P; Undiagnosed Diseases Network; Rush E, Pitt GS, Au PYB, Shashi V. Phenotypic expansion of CACNA1C-associated disorders to include isolated neurological manifestations. Genet Med. 2021 Oct;23(10):1922-1932. doi: 10.1038/s41436-021-01232-8. Epub 2021 Jun 23.
- Splawski I, Timothy KW, Decher N, Kumar P, Sachse FB, Beggs AH, Sanguinetti MC, Keating MT. Severe arrhythmia disorder caused by cardiac L-type calcium channel mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Jun 7;102(23):8089-96; discussion 8086-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0502506102. Epub 2005 Apr 29.
- Splawski I, Timothy KW, Sharpe LM, Decher N, Kumar P, Bloise R, Napolitano C, Schwartz PJ, Joseph RM, Condouris K, Tager-Flusberg H, Priori SG, Sanguinetti MC, Keating MT. Ca(V)1.2 calcium channel dysfunction causes a multisystem disorder including arrhythmia and autism. Cell. 2004 Oct 1;119(1):19-31. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2004.09.011.
- Wemhoner K, Friedrich C, Stallmeyer B, Coffey AJ, Grace A, Zumhagen S, Seebohm G, Ortiz-Bonnin B, Rinne S, Sachse FB, Schulze-Bahr E, Decher N. Gain-of-function mutations in the calcium channel CACNA1C (Cav1.2) cause non-syndromic long-QT but not Timothy syndrome. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2015 Mar;80:186-95. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2015.01.002. Epub 2015 Jan 26.
- Yamakage M, Namiki A. Calcium channels--basic aspects of their structure, function and gene encoding; anesthetic action on the channels--a review. Can J Anaesth. 2002 Feb;49(2):151-64. doi: 10.1007/BF03020488.
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