Voltage-gated K⁺ channels are transmembrane proteins consisting of four α-subunits arranged in a radially symmetric fashion around a central aqueous pore. Each α-subunit consists of six transmembrane segments (S1-S6) with cytoplasmic NH₂- and COOH-termini.

In mammals, a large family of genes encodes α-subunits: K_V1 (homologous to Drosophila Shaker), K_V2 (Shab), K_V3 (Shaw), K_V4 (Shal), K_V5, K_V6, and K_V9¹. The sparsely populated K_V channel subfamilies K_V5 and K_V6 each contain one member, K_V5.1 and K_V6.1². K_V6 channels are electrically silent and no functional role has been suggested for these channels³. A recent study found that K_V6.1 forms functional channels specifically with K_V2.1³. It was also found that K_V2.1 and K_V6.1 mRNAs colocalize to the piriform cortex, hippocampus, dendate gyrus and olfactory tubercle in the brain⁴ and to SA node, atria and ventricle in the heart⁵. This suggests that K_V6.1 may be physiologically important in generating an increased number of K_V channel phenotypes even though it does not itself form functional homomultimeric channels³.