Potassium Channels as a Target for Cancer Therapy: Current Perspectives

Abstract

Leandro Zúñiga,1,2 Angel Cayo,1,2 Wendy González,3,4 Cristian Vilos,2,5,6 Rafael Zúñiga1,2 1Laboratorio de Fisiología Molecular, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile; 2Centro de Nanomedicina, Diagnóstico y Desarrollo de Fármacos (ND3), Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile; 3Centro de Bioinformática y Simulación Molecular, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile; 4Millennium Nucleus of Ion Channels-Associated Diseases (MiNICAD), Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile; 5Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Targeted Delivery, School of Medicine, Universidad de Talca, Talca, 3460000, Chile; 6Center for The Development of Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (CEDENNA), Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, 8350709, ChileCorrespondence: Leandro Zúñiga, Laboratorio de Fisiología Molecular, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad de Talca, Talca, 3460000, Chile, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]: Potassium (K+) channels are highly regulated membrane proteins that control the potassium ion flux and respond to different cellular stimuli. These ion channels are grouped into three major families, Kv (voltage-gated K+ channel), Kir (inwardly rectifying K+ channel) and K2P (two-pore K+ channels), according to the structure, to mediate the K+ currents. In cancer, alterations in K+ channel function can promote the acquisition of the so-called hallmarks of cancer – cell proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, metabolic changes, angiogenesis, and migratory capabilities – emerging as targets for the development of new therapeutic drugs. In this review, we focus our attention on the different K+ channels associated with the most relevant and prevalent cancer types. We summarize our knowledge about the potassium channels structure and function, their cancer dysregulated expression and discuss the K+ channels modulator and the strategies for designing new drugs.Keywords: K+ channels, potassium channel blockers, K+ channels expression, cancer

Keywords

• k+ channels
• potassium channel blockers
• k+ channels expression
• cancer