Molecular Basis of Functional Myocardial Potassium Channel Diversity

Abstract

Multiple types of voltage-gated K(+) and non-voltage-gated K(+) currents have been distinguished in mammalian cardiac myocytes based on differences in time-dependent and voltage-dependent properties and pharmacologic sensitivities. Many of the genes encoding voltage-gated K(+) (Kv) and non-voltage-gated K(+) (Kir and K2P) channel pore-forming and accessory subunits are expressed in the heart, and a variety of approaches have been, and continue to be, used to define the molecular determinants of native cardiac K(+) channels and to explore the molecular mechanisms controlling the diversity, regulation, and remodeling of these channels in the normal and diseased myocardium.

Keywords: Accessory subunits; Action potentials; Dispersion; K(+) channels; Macromolecular protein complexes; Pore-forming subunits; Propagation; Repolarization.