Nav1.5

Nav1.5, encoded by SCN5A, is the main cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel and predominates the inward sodium current, INa, that drives the fast upstroke of the cardiac action potential[1]. Mechanistically, Nav1.5 supports myocardial excitability and electrical conduction, while its expression, localization, and biophysical properties are regulated through transcript structure, post-translational modification, and interacting proteins[2]. In disease models, SCN5A mutations and altered Nav1.5 function are linked to long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, conduction disease, cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure-associated arrhythmogenesis[1][2][3]. Compared with related sodium-channel isoforms, Nav1.5 is defined by its cardiac predominance, while the neonatal splice variant nNav1.5 shows distinct relevance in cancer-cell models[4]. In MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, nNav1.5 potentiates invasive behavior, and Nav1.5 regulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and invasiveness through salt-inducible kinase-1[4][5]. For experimental applications, nNav1.5 blockers, propranolol, ranolazine combinations, and eslicarbazepine-related compounds have been used to inhibit Nav1.5 current or cancer-cell invasion in vitro[6][7][8].
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