Targeting Pumps, Channels and Transporters for the Treatments of Vascular, Cardiovascular and Kidney Diseases

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Background

Pumps, channels and transporters are essential transmembrane proteins of living cells or cellular organelles. They transport ions or small molecules across the cellular membrane for normal physiological function, for example in the kidney, cardiovascular and nervous systems. The electrical impulses that travel along nerve cells to muscle cells ultimately stimulate muscle contraction triggered by the opening and closing of voltage-gated ion channels in the plasma membrane of these cells. The signaling molecule for muscle contraction and relaxation is Ca2+. Its concentration in the cytoplasm of muscle cells is modulated by Ca2+ dependent channels, pumps, and transporters. Moreover, the osmotic homeostasis across the membrane is maintained with the transport of Cl-, Na+ and K+ ions across the plasma membrane of all animal cells by the channels, pumps and transporters. Whereas impaired ion transport regulation may induce pathophysiological changes of cellular function and cell swelling or cell shrinkage.

Proper maintenance of ion channels, transporters, and pumps is critical in a range of cellular activities, such as signal transduction, muscle contraction, volume regulation, growth, motility, apoptosis, as well as the vascular ion and water homeostasis. Dysfunction of ion channels, transporters or pumps can result in numerous vascular diseases and kidney related disorders including stroke, peripheral artery disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm and chronic kidney diseases. The Human Genome Project has identified more than 400 putative ion channels, a large fraction of which is still to be explored. 16% of all Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs target ion channels, transporters, and pumps, highlighting their importance in the disease process.

This Research Topic welcomes the submission of Original Research and Review Articles that shed light on the importance of ion channels, transporters, and pumps in the pathophysiology of vascular, cardiovascular and kidney diseases and suggest new strategies for treatment. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Dysfunctional ion/metabolite transport in organelles leading to common and rare vascular, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, and manipulating the activity of ion channels, transporters, and pumps to treat disease.
• Signal transduction mechanisms of ion channels, transporters, and pumps regulation and relationship to these diseases.
• Emerging methodologies or high throughput assay technologies developed to unravel organellar ion fluxes with novel probes, and for ion channels, transporters, and pumps drug discovery.
• Recent therapeutic approaches targeting ion channels, transporters, and pumps, including chemical synthesized compounds, natural compounds from natural resources, or nano-compounds, traditional Chinese medicine for these diseases.

Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, Vascular diseases, Kidney diseases, Ion channels, Ion transporters, Pumps, Signal transduction, Therapeutics; Drug discovery

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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