Ionic channels -integral proteins in the cell membrane- are essential in several processes such as cardiac activity, nervous transmission, cell proliferation and the regulation of blood pressure. A study which has now been published in Science Advances describes for the first time the membrane traffic and association mechanisms of the Iks cardiac currents, a flow of potassium ions through ionic channels in the cell membrane which is decisive for the right cardiovascular function.

These molecular mechanisms that are related to the cardiac physiology have been characterized by a team of experts from the Laboratory of Molecular Physiology of the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), under the supervision of Professor Antonio Felipe, from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine.

Other participants in the study are experts from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Institute of Neurosciences (UBNeuro) of the UB; the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS); the Alberto Sols Biomedical Research Institute (CSIC-UAM); the Biomedical Research Networking Center on Cardiovascular Diseases (CIBERCV); the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) and the National Institute of Health in Bethesa (NHI).

Reference article:

Anna Oliveras, A.; Serrano-Novillo, C.; Moreno, C.; De la Cruz, A.; Valenzuela, C.; Soeller, C.; Comes, N., y Felipe, A. «The unconventional biogenesis of Kv7.1-KCNE1 complexes».Science Advances , abril de 2020. Doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay4472

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