Small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels: insights into their roles in cardiovascular disease

Abstract

Heart disease: Ion channels offer drug target for arrythmia Drugs that target ion channels involved in controlling heartbeats could help correct irregular cardiac rhythms. Dai-Min Zhang from Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, China, and colleagues reviewed the function of small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels in the heart under normal and disease conditions. These pore-forming proteins, which are opened by calcium and allow potassium to cross the cell membrane, help re-establish a normal electrical balance at the end of each heartbeat. When the channels become overactive and misfire, they can cause arrhythmias and heart failure. The authors discuss how drugs that inhibit SK channels hold promise for treating diseases associated with cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation. Blockade of SK channels can, however, induce arrhythmias in certain clinical situations, so further research is needed to determine when this therapeutic strategy would be safe and appropriate.