Potassium Channels as a Potential Target Spot for Drugs

Abstract

Aberrant function or expression of potassium channels can be underlying in pathologies such as cardiac arrhythmia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, preterm birth, and various types of cancer. The expression of potassium channels is altered in many types of diseases. Also, we have previously shown that natural polyphenols, such as resveratrol, and selective synthetic modulators of potassium channels, like pinacidil, can alter their function and lead to the desired outcome. Therefore, targeting potassium channels with substance, which has an influence on their function, is promising access to cancer, diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, or hypertension therapy. In this chapter, we could discuss strategies for targeting different types of potassium channels as potential targets for synthetic and natural molecules therapy.

Interaction of Medicinal Plants and Their Active Constituents With Potassium Ion Channels: A Systematic Review

“…Given that clinically used drugs target only 7% of ligand-ion and 5% of voltage-gated channels, ion channels seem to be underrepresented in the drug discovery program ( Djokic and Novakovic, 2020 ). This is because the chemical diversity information of ion channels available in databases is low, making drug designing against them all the more challenging ( Bedoya et al, 2019 ).…”