Membrane Transport: Ionic Environments, Signal Transduction, and Development of Therapeutic Targets

Membrane transport plays a critical role in producing ionic environments in both intracellular and extracellular spaces that are necessary for cellular signal transduction. The importance of membrane transport implies that any abnormality may lead to pathophysiological conditions and often to specific diseases. This also means that membrane transporters, including ion channels and transporters, are very important therapeutic targets in several diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, dementia, metabolic syndrome associated with diabetes mellitus, and cancer. Thus, many researchers have been investigating regulatory mechanisms of membrane transport with an aim to develop new therapies for treating transport disorders found in various diseases.