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Regulation of Ion Channels and Transporters

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 651

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ion channels and ion transporters play crucial roles in regulating cellular ion homeostasis and signaling. Their dysfunction contributes to a variety of diseases, including neurological, cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic diseases and cancers. Understanding the mechanisms by which ion channels and transporters operate and malfunction can provide insights into disease pathogenesis and identify potential therapeutic targets.

This Special Issue will bring together recent advances in the pivotal functions of ion channels and transporters in health and disease, highlighting their significance in treatment development. Basic medical research on this topic is also welcome.

Topics to address:

  • Ion channels and transporters as targets for a variety of diseases;
  • Modulation of intracellular signaling pathways mediating ion channels and transporters, focusing in particular on K+, Cl, and Mg2+;
  • Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation mediating ion channels and transporters;
  • Novel roles of ion channels and transporters in disease microenvironments (i.e., regulation of cytokines/chemokines recruiting immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment);
  • Roles of ion channels and transporters in the acquisition and overcoming of drug resistance;
  • Innovative methods measuring the concentration of ions in living cells.

Prof. Dr. Susumu Ohya
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ion channels
  • ion transporters
  • cardiovascular disease
  • inflammatory disease
  • cancers
  • neurogenerative disease
  • disease microenvironment
  • drug discovery
  • drug resistance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 2893 KiB  
Article
The Slo1 Y450F Substitution Modifies Basal Function and Cholesterol Response of Middle Cerebral Artery Smooth Muscle BK Channels in a Sexually Dimorphic Manner
by Elizabeth H. Schneider, Alex M. Dopico and Anna N. Bukiya
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(8), 3814; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26083814 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 214
Abstract
Calcium- and voltage-gated potassium channels of large conductance (BK channels) in smooth muscle (SM) act as part of a negative feedback mechanism on SM contraction and associated decrease in cerebral artery diameter. Functional BK channels result from tetrameric association of α subunits encoded [...] Read more.
Calcium- and voltage-gated potassium channels of large conductance (BK channels) in smooth muscle (SM) act as part of a negative feedback mechanism on SM contraction and associated decrease in cerebral artery diameter. Functional BK channels result from tetrameric association of α subunits encoded by KCNMA1 (Slo1). Ionic current from slo1 channels is inhibited by cholesterol in artificial lipid bilayers, an effect significantly reduced by the slo1 Y450F substitution. Whether such substitution affects cholesterol action on cerebral artery SM BK channel function and diameter remains unknown. Using the KCNMA1Y450F knock-in (K/I) mouse, we determined the effect of cholesterol enrichment on BK currents in native SM cells from middle cerebral artery using patch-clamp electrophysiology and the artery diameter ex vivo response to cholesterol. Results show that the KCNMA1Y450F K/I mutation modifies both basal function and the channel’s response to cholesterol enrichment. Such modifications are detectable solely in SM cells from males, demonstrating sexual dimorphism. Unexpectedly, the modifications introduced by the Y450F substitution do not translate into observable changes in middle cerebral artery diameter ex vivo, suggesting that mechanisms at the SM level compensate for changes driven by the KCNMA1 point mutation under study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regulation of Ion Channels and Transporters)
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