Immune Cell Ion Channels as Therapeutic Targets

The immune systemImmune systems and its components represent the body’s defensive apparatus against microbes, toxins, trauma, and neoplasms. Consisting of a complex network of cellular and tissue barriers, soluble extracellular regulatory and effector molecules, and various tissue resident or highly mobile cell types, the system can be divided into the innate and adaptive immune systemAdaptive immune system. Conceptually the innate system can be considered a pre-programmed response, while the adaptive system exhibits immunological memory. While fundamental for the continued well-being of an individual, the number of diseases in which the immune systemImmune systems has been implicated in has greatly expanded over the past 30 years. These now include not only the classical inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma but also metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, tissue ischemic reperfusion injury, neurodegenerative diseases, and neoplastic development. It is therefore not surprising that intense research is focused on developing therapeutics that can suppress, enhance, or modulate components of the immune the system. Ion channels have been extensively researched as regulators of cellular function in electrically excitable cells, and this has led to the development of several important drug classes. In comparison the role of ion channels in immune cells has received relatively little attention. In this review we report on the roles of ion channels in individual cell types of the innate and adaptive immune systemAdaptive immune system and highlight recent research which could indicate the potential of targeting ion channels in these cells to treat a variety of diseases.