Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: TASK1

Title: Potassium channels in cell cycle and cell proliferation.

Authors: Diana Urrego, Adam P Tomczak, Farrah Zahed, Walter Stühmer, Luis A Pardo

Journal, date & volume: Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci., 2014 Mar 19 , 369, 20130094

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24493742

Abstract
Normal cell-cycle progression is a crucial task for every multicellular organism, as it determines body size and shape, tissue renewal and senescence, and is also crucial for reproduction. On the other hand, dysregulation of the cell-cycle progression leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation is the hallmark of cancer. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is a tightly regulated process, with multifaceted and very complex control mechanisms. It is now well established that one of those mechanisms relies on ion channels, and in many cases specifically on potassium channels. Here, we summarize the possible mechanisms underlying the importance of potassium channels in cell-cycle control and briefly review some of the identified channels that illustrate the multiple ways in which this group of proteins can influence cell proliferation and modulate cell-cycle progression.