Akrouh Alejandro, Halcomb S Eliza, Nichols Colin G, Sala-Rabanal Monica
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
IUBMB Life. 2009 Oct;61(10):971-8. doi: 10.1002/iub.246.
The ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channel is expressed in most excitable tissues and plays a critical role in numerous physiological processes by coupling intracellular energetics to electrical activity. The channel is comprised of four Kir6.x subunits associated with four regulatory sulfonylurea receptors (SUR). Intracellular ATP acts on Kir6.x to inhibit channel activity, while MgADP stimulates channel activity through SUR. Changes in the cytosolic [ATP] to [ADP] ratio thus determine channel activity. Multiple mutations in Kir6.x and SUR genes have implicated K(ATP) channels in various diseases ranging from diabetes and hyperinsulinism to cardiac arrhythmias and cardiovascular disease. Continuing studies of channel physiology and pathology will bring new insights to the molecular basis of K(ATP) channel function, leading to a better understanding of the role that K(ATP) channels play in both health and disease.
ATP敏感性钾(K(ATP))通道在大多数可兴奋组织中表达,并通过将细胞内能量代谢与电活动相耦联,在众多生理过程中发挥关键作用。该通道由四个与四个调节性磺脲类受体(SUR)相关联的Kir6.x亚基组成。细胞内ATP作用于Kir6.x以抑制通道活性,而MgADP则通过SUR刺激通道活性。因此,胞质中[ATP]与[ADP]比值的变化决定了通道活性。Kir6.x和SUR基因的多种突变表明K(ATP)通道与从糖尿病、高胰岛素血症到心律失常和心血管疾病等各种疾病有关。对通道生理学和病理学的持续研究将为K(ATP)通道功能的分子基础带来新的见解,从而更好地理解K(ATP)通道在健康和疾病中的作用。