Therapeutic potential of ATP-sensitive potassium channels in Parkinson's disease.

In the past decade, there was an increasing interest in the therapeutic potential targeting ATP-sensitive potassium (K) channels for an effective treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). K channels are widely expressed in the central nervous system and were reported to mediate the degeneration and death of nigral dopamine neurons in the pathogenesis of PD. This review aims to address the pivotal roles of K channels played in the mechanisms underlying PD pathogenesis, and provide possible directions for further research from different perspectives, such as the vulnerability of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, neurotransmitter releasing, iron metabolism in the brain, α-synuclein secretion and mitochondrial dysfunction, which are off critical importance in the investigation of K channels-targeted precise therapeutic interventions for PD.