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Current Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 0929-8673
ISSN (Online): 1875-533X

Zinc-Permeable Ion Channels: Effects on Intracellular Zinc Dynamics and Potential Physiological/Pathophysiological Significance

Author(s): Koichi Inoue, Zaven O`Bryant and Zhi-Gang Xiong

Volume 22, Issue 10, 2015

Page: [1248 - 1257] Pages: 10

DOI: 10.2174/0929867322666150209153750

Price: $65

Abstract

Zinc (Zn2+) is one of the most important trace metals in the body. It is necessary for the normal function of a large number of protein s including enzymes and transcription factors. While extracellular fluid may contain up to micromolar Zn2+, intracellular Zn2+ concentration is generally maintained at a subnanomolar level; this steep gradient across the cell membrane is primarily attributable to Zn2+ extrusion by Zn2+ transporting systems. Interestingly, systematic investigation has revealed that activities, previously believed to be dependent on calcium (Ca2+), may be partially mediated by Zn2+. This is also supported by new findings that some Ca2+-permeable channels such as voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs), N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDA), and amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate receptors (AMPA-Rs) are also permeable to Zn2+. Thus, the importance of Zn2+ in physiological and pathophysiological processes is now more widely appreciated. In this review, we describe Zn2+- permeable membrane molecules, especially Zn2+-permeable ion channels, in intracellular Zn2+dynamics and Zn2+ mediated physiology/pathophysiology.

Keywords: Calcium, fluorescence imaging, ion channel, zinc.


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