# SCN5A

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/scn5a/  
OnCo record `scn5a` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

SCN5A (Sodium channel protein type 5 subunit alpha) is a gene. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, and an approved or late-stage drug is recorded against it.

## Summary

Pore-forming subunit of Nav1.5, a voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channel that directly mediates the depolarising phase of action potentials in excitable membranes. Navs, also called VGSCs (voltage-gated sodium channels) or VDSCs (voltage-dependent sodium channels), operate by switching between closed and open conformations depending on the voltage difference across the membrane. In the open conformation they allow Na(+) ions to selectively pass through the pore, along their electrochemical gradient.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.56 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.95, animal model 0.38, genetic association 0.00, clinical 0.86).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 5; Sodium channel protein type 5 subunit alpha; Nav1.5; LQT3; HB1; PFHB1; HB2; HH1; SSS1; CDCD2; CMPD2; CMD1E
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: SCN5A
- Class: other
- Biology: Pore-forming subunit of Nav1.5, a voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channel that directly mediates the depolarising phase of action potentials in excitable membranes. Navs, also called VGSCs (voltage-gated sodium channels) or VDSCs (voltage-dependent sodium channels), operate by switching between closed and open conformations depending on the voltage difference across the membrane. In the open conformation they allow Na(+) ions to selectively pass through the pore, along their electrochemical gradient. The influx of Na(+) ions provokes membrane depolarisation, initiating the propagation of electrical signals throughout cells and tissues. Nav1.5 is the predominant sodium channel expressed in myocardial cells and it is responsible for the initial upstroke of the action potential in cardiac myocytes, thereby initiating the heartbeat. Required for normal electrical conduction including formation of the infranodal ventricular conduction system and normal action potential configuration, as a result of its interaction with XIRP2. Location: Cell membrane; Cytoplasm, perinuclear region; Cell membrane, sarcolemma, T-tubule; Cell junction (UniProt). Locus 3p22.2 (HGNC).

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: Open Targets known-drug datatype score 0.86. Evidence tier "approved-drug" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:10593: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:10593
- UniProt Q14524: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/Q14524/entry
- NCBI Gene 6331: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/6331
- Ensembl ENSG00000183873: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000183873

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/scn5a.json