| abstract |
The present invention relates to novel human nucleic acid molecules encoding novel human cation channels, and proteins and polypeptides encoded by such nucleic acid molecules. More specifically, the nucleic acid molecules of the invention include novel human genes, e.g., hCCh3.1, hCCh3.2, and hCCh4, that encode proteins or polypeptides that display some sequence homology and structural homology to the vanilloid and TRP (transient receptor potential) families of cation channel proteins. The proteins and polypeptides of the invention represent novel cation channels that may be therapeutically valuable targets for drug delivery in the treatment of human diseases which involve calcium, sodium, potassium or other ionic homeostatic dysfunction, such as central nervous system (CNS) disorders, e.g., stroke or degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, or other disorders such as cardiac disorders, e.g., arrhythmia, diabetes, chronic pain, hypercalcemia, hypocalcemia, hypercalciuria, hypocalciuria, or ion disorders associated with renal or liver disease. |