Alternative splicing
Post-transcriptional alternative splicing of Cav1.3 is an extensive and vital regulatory mechanism. Alternative splicing can significantly affect the gating properties of the channel. Comparable to alternative splicing of Cav1.2 transcripts, which confers functional specificity, it has recently been discovered that alternative splicing, particularly in the C-terminus, affects the pharmacological properties of Cav1.3. Strikingly, up to 8-fold differences in dihydropyridine sensitivity between alternatively spliced isoforms have been reported.