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PubMed1999

Calcium channelopathies in the central nervous system.

The recent discovery that familial hemiplegic migraine, episodic ataxia type 2, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 are allelic disorders caused by different mutations in CACNA1A, a calcium-channel-encoding gene, adds to a growing list of channelopathies causing paroxysmal neurologic disturbance and progressive neurodegeneration. Calcium channelopathies in the central nervous system provide a model to study the important roles that calcium channels play in neuronal function.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Channelopathies: the nondystrophic myotonias and periodic paralyses.

The term channelopathy does not indicate a new group of neuromuscular conditions, but a re-orientation of well- and long-known muscular conditions, the congenital myotonias, and the periodic paralyses. Although, in the past, they have overlapped clinically here and there, both groups were classified differently, as myotonias and as metabolic myopathies, respectively. The discovery of mutations in several ion channels has rewritten nosography of these disorders and procured a new term, the channelopathy-clinical, electrophysiological, and molecular genetic details of which are discussed in this chapter.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

The neuronal channelopathies.

This review addresses the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diseases caused by inherited mutations of ion channels in neurones. Among important recent advances is the elucidation of several dominantly inherited epilepsies caused by mutations of both voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channels. The neuronal channelopathies show evidence of phenotypic convergence; notably, episodic ataxia can be caused by mutations of either calcium or potassium channels. The channelopathies also show evidence of phenotypic divergence; for instance, different mutations of the same calcium channel gene are associated with familial hemiplegic migraine, episodic or progressive ataxia, coma and epilepsy. Future developments are likely to include the discovery of other ion channel genes associated with inherited and sporadic CNS disorders. The full range of manifestations of inherited ion channel mutations remains to be established.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Neurological potassium channelopathies.

Potassium channel dysfunction has been implicated in a variety of genetic and acquired neurological disorders that are collectively referred to as the potassium channelopathies. These include acquired neuromyotonia, episodic ataxia type-1, hereditary deafness syndromes, benign familial neonatal convulsions and hypokalaemic periodic paralysis. Insight into potassium channel structure and function is crucial to understanding the pathophysiology of these conditions. This article describes potassium channel structure and function and then outlines what is known about the immunology and genetics of the neurological potassium channelopathies.

Epilepsy, Benign Neonatal↗

PubMed2005

Hypothesis: could Meniere's disease be a channelopathy?

Meniere's disease is a clinical syndrome of uncertain aetiology but it is a widespread belief that it is related to endolymphatic hydrops. Clinically, it is a paroxysmal disorder with vertigo and subsequent deafness. It is responsive to acetazolamide and sensitive to the sodium content in the diet, many of the features of the channelopathies. The present paper explores the possibility that it may be related to a channelopathy.

Acetazolamide↗

PubMed2005

Brief review of the recently described short QT syndrome and other cardiac channelopathies.

There are many diseases related to ion-channel disorders, so-called "channelopathies." Hereditary short QT syndrome is a clinical-electrocardiographic entity with autosomal-dominant mode of transmission and it is the most recently described channelopathy. The syndrome may affect infants, children, or young adults with strong positive family background of sudden cardiac death. Short QT syndrome is characterized by short QT and heart-rate-corrected QTc intervals. It is frequently associated with tall-, peaked-, and narrow-based T waves that are reminiscent of the typical "desert tent" T waves of hyperkalemia. There is a high tendency for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation due to the heterogeneous abbreviation of action potential duration and refractoriness of atrial myocytes. The arrhythmia can also be induced by programmed electrical stimulation. The safest treatment suggested is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, though the possibilities of inappropriate shocks have caused some concern, especially in teenagers. The ability of quinidine to prolong the QT interval has the potential to be an effective therapy for patients with short QT syndrome. This is particularly important in developing countries, where the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy is not always available. Since these patients are at risk of sudden cardiac death from birth, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation has a lot of limitations in very young children, the utility of quinidine has to be evaluated further. Clinicians need to be aware of this deadly electrocardiographic (ECG) pattern as it portends a high risk of sudden cardiac death in otherwise healthy subjects with structurally normal hearts.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

PubMed2005

Ion channelopathy and hyperphosphorylation contributing to cardiac arrhythmias.

The occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias is related to the abnormality of ion channels not only in sarcolemma but also in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which regulates the process of calcium release and up-take intracellularly. Patterns of ion channelopathy in the sarcolemma can be divided into single channel disorder from gene mutations and multiple channels disorder in a diseased hypertrophied heart. Abnormal RyR2, FKBP12.6, SERCA2a, and PLB are also involved in the initiation of cardiac arrhythmias. Maladjustment by hyperphosphorylation on the ion channels in the sarcolemma and RyR2-FKBP12.6 and SERCA2a-PLB is discussed. Hyperphosphorylation, which is the main abnormality upstream to ion channels, can be targeted for suppressing the deterioration of ion channelopathy in terms of new drug discovery in the treatment and prevention of malignant cardiac arrhythmias.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Unconventional intronic splice site mutation in SCN5A associates with cardiac sodium channelopathy.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the cardiac sodium channel, SCN5A, have been associated with one type of long-QT syndrome, with isolated cardiac conduction defects and Brugada syndrome. The sodium channelopathies exhibit marked variation in clinical phenotypes. The mechanisms underlying the phenotypical diversity, however, remain unknown. Exonic SCN5A mutations can be detected in 20% of Brugada syndrome patients. RESULTS: An intronic mutation (c.4810+3_4810+6dupGGGT) in the SCN5A gene, located outside the consensus splice site, was detected in this study in a family with a highly variable clinical phenotype of Brugada syndrome and/or conduction disease and in a patient with Brugada syndrome. The mutation was not found in a control panel of 100 (200 alleles) ethnically matched normal control subjects. We provide in vivo and in vitro evidence that the mutation can disrupt the splice donor site, activate a cryptic splice site, and create a novel splice site. Notably, our data show that normal transcripts can be also derived from the mutant allele. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of an unconventional intronic splice site mutation in the SCN5A gene leading to cardiac sodium channelopathy. We speculate that its phenotypical diversity might be determined by the ratio of normal/abnormal transcripts derived from the mutant allele.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Channelopathies: ion channel defects linked to heritable clinical disorders.

Electrical signals are critical for the function of neurones, muscle cells, and cardiac myocytes. Proteins that regulate electrical signalling in these cells, including voltage gated ion channels, are logical sites where abnormality might lead to disease. Genetic and biophysical approaches are being used to show that several disorders result from mutations in voltage gated ion channels. Understanding gained from early studies on the pathogenesis of a group of muscle diseases that are similar in their episodic nature (periodic paralysis) showed that these disorders result from mutations in a gene encoding a voltage gated Na(+) channel. Their characterisation as channelopathies has served as a paradigm for other episodic disorders. For example, migraine headache and some forms of epilepsy have been shown to result from mutations in voltage gated Ca(2+) channel genes, while long QT syndrome is known to result from mutations in either K(+) or Na(+) channel genes. This article reviews progress made in the complementary fields of molecular genetics and cellular electrophysiology which has led to a better understanding of voltage gated ion channelopathies in humans and mice.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Neurological channelopathies.

Ion channels are membrane-bound proteins that perform key functions in virtually all human cells. Such channels are critically important for the normal function of the excitable tissues of the nervous system, such as muscle and brain. Until relatively recently it was considered that dysfunction of ion channels in the nervous system would be incompatible with life. However, an increasing number of human diseases associated with dysfunctional ion channels are now recognised. Such neurological channelopathies are frequently genetically determined but may also arise through autoimmune mechanisms. In this article clinical, genetic, immunological, and electrophysiological aspects of this expanding group of neurological disorders are reviewed. Clinical situations in which a neurological channelopathy should enter into the differential diagnosis are highlighted. Some practical guidance on how to investigate and treat this complex group of disorders is also included.

Autoimmune Diseases↗

PubMed2006

Pathomechanisms in channelopathies of skeletal muscle and brain.

Ion channelopathies are a diverse array of human disorders caused by mutations in ion channel genes. This review focuses on the pathogenic mechanisms of channelopathies affecting skeletal muscle and brain arising from mutations of voltage-gated ion channels and fast ligand-gated ion channels expressed at the surface membrane. Derangements in channel function alter the electrical excitability of the cell and thereby increase susceptibility to transient symptomatic attacks including myasthenia, periodic paralysis, myotonic stiffness, seizures, headache, dyskinesia, or episodic ataxia. Although these disorders are rare, they stand out as exemplary cases for which disease pathogenesis can be traced from a point mutation to altered protein function, to altered cellular activity, and to clinical phenotype. The study of these disorders has provided insights on channel structure-function relations, the physiological roles of ion channels, and rational approaches toward therapeutic intervention for many disorders of cellular excitability.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

The channelopathies: novel insights into molecular and genetic mechanisms of human disease.

Ion channels are pore-forming proteins that provide pathways for the controlled movement of ions into or out of cells. Ionic movement across cell membranes is critical for essential and physiological processes ranging from control of the strength and duration of the heartbeat to the regulation of insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells. Diseases caused by mutations in genes that encode ion channel subunits or regulatory proteins are referred to as channelopathies. As might be expected based on the diverse roles of ion channels, channelopathies range from inherited cardiac arrhythmias, to muscle disorders, to forms of diabetes. This series of reviews examines the roles of ion channels in health and disease.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Calcium channels and channelopathies of the central nervous system.

Several inherited human neurological disorders can be caused by mutations in genes encoding Ca2+ channel subunits. This review deals with known human and mouse calcium channelopathies of the central nervous system (CNS). The human diseases comprise: 1) a recessive retinal disorder, X-linked congenital stationary night blindness, associated with mutations in the CACNA1F gene, encoding alpha(1)1.4 subunits of L-type channels; and 2) a group of rare allelic autosomal dominant human neurological disorders including familial hemiplegic migraine, episodic ataxia type 2, and spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, all associated with mutations in the CACNA1A gene, encoding alpha(1)2.1 subunits of P/Q-type calcium channels. Mutations at the mouse orthologue of the CACNA1A gene cause a group of recessive neurological disorders, including the tottering, leaner, and rocker phenotypes with ataxia and absence epilepsy, and the rolling Nagoya phenotype with ataxia without seizures. Two other spontaneous mouse mutants with ataxia and absence epilepsy, lethargic and stargazer, have mutations in genes encoding a calcium channel auxiliary beta subunit and a putative calcium channel auxiliary gamma subunit. For each channelopathy, the review describes disease phenotype, channel genotype, and known functional consequences of the pathological mutations; in some cases, it also describes working hypothesis and/or speculations addressing the challenging question of how the alterations in channel function lead to selective cellular dysfunction and disease.

Amino Acid Substitution↗

PubMed2001

Peripheral channelopathies as targets for potassium channel openers.

Potassium channel openers (KCOs) are important tools that are often used to gain a greater understanding of K(+) channels. Agents that can induce or maintain the opening of K(+) channels also offer a therapeutic approach to controlling of cell excitability and offer a means of producing stability in biological systems. The pathogenesis of a broad range of peripheral disorders (e.g., LQT syndrome, hypokalemic periodic paralysis, hyperinsulinism in infancy and erectile dysfunction) are associated with dysfunctional K(+) channels due to mutations in genes encoding channel proteins. The therapeutic potential of KCOs in peripheral K(+) channelopathies is discussed. The identification of K(+) channel subtype-specific openers offers discrete modulation of cellular systems creating a realistic therapeutic advance in the treatment of K(+) channelopathies.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed2004

Molecular biology of channelopathies: impact on diagnosis and treatment.

Channelopathies are genetically determined ion channel alterations that lead to acute and transient symptoms in subjects who otherwise appear to be normal. This article reviews the recent progression of biomolecular studies that have clarified the mechanisms by which gene mutations may result in alterations of excitable tissues responsible for episodic neurological, neuromuscular and cardiac disorders, defined as channelopathies. The development of technologies capable of testing pharmacological agents in vitro on mutated channels expressed in cell lines makes it possible to define a more rational use of the available drugs acting on ion channels, and to design new molecules specifically targeted to known channel dysfunctions and new ones that could be identified by future genetic studies.

Central Nervous System Diseases↗

PubMed2006

Molecular mechanisms of cardiac voltage-gated potassium channelopathies.

Potassium channels form highly K+ ion-selective pores in the plasma membrane of excitable cells. Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels open in response to membrane depolarization to allow rapid diffusion of K+ ions out of the cell, thus repolarizing the cell to restore a negative resting membrane potential. Inherited mutations in Kv channel genes produce abnormal cellular repolarization and cause diseases of excitable tissues. Small molecule interactions with Kv channels can cause similar pathologies. During the last decade of research into Kv channels and associated diseases--termed 'channelopathies'--we have begun to understand Kv channel function and dysfunction at the molecular level. In this review, the molecular mechanisms of Kv channelopathies are discussed, with particular emphasis on the overlap between inherited and acquired disease, and the drive towards novel channel-targeted therapies.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

PubMed2002

Channelopathies: episodic disorders of the nervous system.

The field of channelopathies is a newly recognized group of disorders named after the site of their molecular defects--voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels. While voltage-gated ion channel mutants have been recognized for some time in organisms such as Drosophila, the first channelopathy in humans was reported within the last decade. The recognition of this group of disorders began with the definition of the molecular basis of a group of unusual muscle disorders called the periodic paralysis and non-dystrophic myotonias. Interestingly, this group of muscle disorders share some interesting phenotypic features with a number of seemingly disparate human diseases that involve not only skeletal muscle, but also brain and heart. Some similarities that exist among these different disorders include their episodic nature, similarities with regard to factors that precipitate attacks, therapeutic agents which can help to treat or prevent attacks, and in some cases, a degenerative component that arises in addition to the episodic attacks. The study of these diseases, along with the recognition of common clinical and pathophysiological themes among these disorders has led to tremendous growth in our understanding of these diseases and the hope of developing better therapies.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

[Channelopathy update].

Electrophysiological techniques, molecular technology and molecular genetics have been quickly developed in the late 20th century. Now many genetical abnormalities of channel proteins including voltage gated ion channels, ligand gated ion channels and Ca induced Ca channel have been discovered. In this article, I briefly review these genetical abnormality of ion channels ("channelopathies") and the pathophysiological background of these channelopathies.

Humans↗