Journal
NATURE REVIEWS UROLOGY
Volume 9, Issue 1, Pages 30-40Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nrurol.2011.194
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NIH [DK084284, DK083687]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES [R21DK083687, R01DK084284] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Contraction and relaxation of the detrusor smooth muscle (DSM), which makes up the wall of the urinary bladder, facilitates the storage and voiding of urine. Several families of K+ channels, including voltage-gated K+ (K-V) channels, Ca2+-activated K+ (K-Ca) channels, inward-rectifying ATP-sensitive K+ (K-ir, K-ATP) channels, and two-pore-domain K+ (K-2P) channels, are expressed and functional in DSM. They control DSM excitability and contractility by maintaining the resting membrane potential and shaping the action potentials that determine the phasic nature of contractility in this tissue. Defects in DSM K+ channel proteins or in the molecules involved in their regulatory pathways may underlie certain forms of bladder dysfunction, such as overactive bladder. K+ channels represent an opportunity for novel pharmacological manipulation and therapeutic intervention in human DSM. Modulation of DSM K+ channels directly or indirectly by targeting their regulatory mechanisms has the potential to control urinary bladder function. This Review summarizes our current state of knowledge of the functional role of K+ channels in DSM in health and disease, with special emphasis on current advancements in the field.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available