Calcium Channel, Voltage Dependent, Alpha 2/Delta Subunit 3 (CACNa2d3)

CACNA2D3 encodes a member of the alpha-2/delta subunit family, a protein in the voltage-dependent calcium channel complex. Calcium channels mediate the influx of calcium ions into the cell upon membrane polarization and consist of a complex of alpha-1, alpha-2/delta, beta, and gamma subunits in a 1:1:1:1 ratio. Various versions of each of these subunits exist, either expressed from similar genes or the result of alternative splicing. Research on a highly similar protein in rabbit suggests the protein described in this record is cleaved into alpha-2 and delta subunits. Alternate transcriptional splice variants of this gene have been observed but have not been thoroughly characterized.The predicted 997-amino acid protein has significant homology to mouse Cacna2d3 but lacks the N-terminal 44 amino acids of the mouse protein.