Because of their prevalence and the critical role they fulfill in virtually all tissue types and organs, ion channels play a vital role in basic physiological functions, including muscle contraction, CNS signaling and hormone secretion amongmany. Not surprisingly, ion channels are drug targets for a number of therapeutic agents. At the other end of the spectrum, several human diseases have been linked to mutations or dysfunction of ion channels. In some cases, elucidating the specific ion channel dysfunction underlying the disease phenotype may provide a target for therapy. The recognized importance of ion channels in health and disease, combined with the potential to develop a broad range of new drugs for the treatment of ion channel-related diseases, has fueled the need to develop more suitable screening technologies accounting for their complex structure and function, and has led to a dramatic increase in the number of medicinal chemistry programs directed at ion channel targets.Accordingly, this volume was written to introduce medicinal chemists to the field of ion channels. Its aim is to review recent advances in the field of ion channel-related diseases, and is meant to be accessible to graduate students, teachers, biologists, chemists and many other disciplines. Following an overview chapter summarizing the current state of ion channel screening technologies, five topics covering areas such as cancer, cardiac arrhythmias, cystic fibrosis, and pain have been selected, and the current state of knowledge ispresented by leading experts intheir field in away that is accessible to all.Each chapter is structured to cover the biological rational for the target, the current status in the development of agents to treat the disease, and future perspective and challenges facing each therapeutic area. Hopefully, this effort will help to foster enhanced communication and collaborations between chemists and ion channel experts. Whether we are at the verge of a golden age for ion channel drug discovery remains to be determined, but what unfolds over the coming years should be of utmost interest for anyone involved in drug development.
Over of book:
Ion channels play a vital role in basic physiological functions such as generation of electrical activity in nerves and muscle, control of cardiac excitability, intracellular signaling, hormone secretion, cell proliferation and many other biological processes. Because of their prevalence and the critical role they play in virtually all tissue types and organs, ion channels are also involved in a number of pathophysiological conditions. The aim of this volume is to review recent advances in the field of ion channel related diseases. Following an overview chapter summarizing the current state of ion channel screening technologies, five topics covering areas such as cancer, cardiac arrhythmias, cystic fibrosis, and pain have been selected, and the current state of knowledge is presented by leading experts in their field. Each chapter is structured to cover the biological rationale for the target, the current status in the development of agents to treat the disease, and future prospects and challenges facing each therapeutic area. The reader will receive a critical overview covering the progress made in the rapidly developing and complex field of ion channels and diseases.
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