Kcnq4, known as Potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily q member 4, encodes a voltage-gated potassium channel. It is crucial for maintaining ion homeostasis and regulating hair cell membrane potential in the inner ear, and also modulates neuronal excitability in the auditory pathway [1,4].

In Kcnq4 knockout mice, the acoustic startle reflex was significantly increased compared to wild-type littermates, suggesting that the deletion of Kcnq4 leads to both cochlear damage and changes in the neuronal excitability of startle networks [5]. Also, a murine model harboring Kcnq4W276S/+ recapitulating DFNA2 (a form of progressive hearing loss) showed that in vivo gene editing to disrupt the dominant-negative allele in Kcnq4 could improve auditory thresholds, indicating the importance of Kcnq4 in maintaining normal hearing function [7].

In conclusion, Kcnq4 is essential for normal auditory function. Gene-knockout mouse models have revealed its role in hearing-related processes and startle reflex regulation. Understanding Kcnq4 function through these models may contribute to developing treatments for hearing-related disorders such as nonsyndromic hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss, and age-related hearing loss [1,2,3,5,6,7].