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Molecular Biology of the Voltage‐Gated Potassium Channels of the Cardiovascular System
Author(s) -
ROBERDS STEVEN L.,
KNOTH KAREN M.,
PO SUNNY,
BLAIR T.,
BENNETT PAUL B.,
HARTSHORNE ROBERT P.,
SNYDERS DIRK J.,
TAMKUN MICHAEL M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1540-8167
pISSN - 1045-3873
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8167.1993.tb01214.x
Subject(s) - xenopus , ion channel , potassium channel , cardiac action potential , cloning (programming) , kcsa potassium channel , myocyte , heterologous expression , membrane potential , microbiology and biotechnology , function (biology) , inward rectifier potassium ion channel , molecular cloning , computational biology , medicine , neuroscience , biology , electrophysiology , biophysics , genetics , repolarization , gene , gene expression , computer science , recombinant dna , receptor , programming language
Cardiovascular K + Channel Molecular Biology. K + channels represent the most diverse class of voltage‐gated ion channels in terms of function and structure. Voltage‐gated K + channels in the heart establish the resting membrane K permeability, modulate the frequency and duration of action potentials, and are targets of several antiarrhythmic drugs. Consequently, an understanding of K + channel structure‐function relationships and pharmacology is of great practical interest. However, the presence of multiple overlapping currents in native cardiac myocytes complicates the study of basic K + channel function and drug‐channel interactions in these cells. The application of molecular cloning technology to cardiovascular K + channels has identified the primary structure of these proteins, and heterologous expression systems have allowed a detailed analysis of channel function and pharmacology without contaminating currents. To date six different K + channels have been cloned from rat and human heart, and all have been functionally characterized in either Xenopus oocytes or mammalian tissue culture systems. This initial research is an important step toward understanding the molecular basis of the action potential in the heart. An important challenge for the future is to determine the cell‐specific expression and relative contribution of these cloned channels to cardiac excitability.