Emerging roles for G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels in health and disease

Luescher, Christian; Slesinger, P. A.

doi:10.1038/nrn2834

Scientific article

English

Emerging roles for G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels in health and disease

Contributors

Luescher, Christian

; Slesinger, P. A.

Published in

Nature reviews. Neuroscience, vol. 11, no. 5, p. 301-315

Publication date

2010

Abstract

G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels hyperpolarize neurons in response to activation of many different G protein-coupled receptors and thus control the excitability of neurons through GIRK-mediated self-inhibition, slow synaptic potentials and volume transmission. GIRK channel function and trafficking are highly dependent on the channel subunit composition. Pharmacological investigations of GIRK channels and studies in animal models suggest that GIRK activity has an important role in physiological responses, including pain perception and memory modulation. Moreover, abnormal GIRK function has been implicated in altering neuronal excitability and cell death, which may be important in the pathophysiology of diseases such as epilepsy, Down's syndrome, Parkinson's disease and drug addiction. GIRK channels may therefore prove to be a valuable new therapeutic target.

Keywords

Animals
Brain/ metabolism
Brain Diseases/metabolism
G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels/ metabolism
Models, Neurological
Neurons/ metabolism
Pain/metabolism

UNIGE affiliation entities

Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine fondamentale / Département de neurosciences fondamentales

UNIGE research groups

Mécanismes cellulaires de la dépendance et de l'addiction (520)

Citation (ISO format)

LUESCHER, Christian, SLESINGER, P. A. Emerging roles for G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels in health and disease. In: Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2010, vol. 11, n° 5, p. 301–315. doi: 10.1038/nrn2834

Article

Identifiers

PID : unige:10348
DOI : 10.1038/nrn2834
PMID : 20389305

Additional URL for this publication

http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v11/n5/pdf/nrn2834.pdf

Journal ISSN

1471-003X

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Creation

06/08/2010 13:47:07

First validation

06/08/2010 13:47:07

Update

14/10/2025 05:54:20

Status update

14/03/2023 15:58:56

Last indexation

02/11/2026 16:36:51

Emerging roles for G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels in health and disease

Contributors

Published in

Publication date

Abstract

Keywords

UNIGE affiliation entities

UNIGE research groups

Citation (ISO format)

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Additional URL for this publication

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Technical informations

Creation

First validation

Update

Status update

Last indexation