The CACNG1 gene on chromosome 17q24 encodes an integral membrane protein that was originally isolated as the regulatory gamma subunit of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels from skeletal muscle. The existence of an extended family of gamma subunits was subsequently demonstrated upon identification of CACNG2 (22q13), CACNG3 (16p12-p13), and CACNG4 and CACNG5 (17q24). In this study, we describe a cluster of three novel gamma subunit genes, CACNG6, CACNG7, and CACNG8, located in a tandem array on 19q13.4. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this array is paralogous to the cluster containing CACNG1, CACNG5, and CACNG4, respectively, on chromosome 17q24. We developed sensitive RT-PCR assays and examined the expression profile of each member of the gamma subunit gene family, CACNG1-CACNG8. Analysis of 24 human tissues plus 3 dissected brain regions revealed that CACNG1 through CACNG8 are all coexpressed in fetal and adult brain and differentially transcribed among a wide variety of other tissues. The expression of distinct complements of gamma subunit isoforms in different cell types may be an important mechanism for regulating Ca2+ channel function.

Copyright 2001 Academic Press.