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Calcium channels - basic aspects of their structure, function and gene encoding; anesthetic action on the channels - a review

[Revue : notions de base sur la structure, la fonction et l'encodage génétique des canaux calciques et action des anesthésiques sur ces canaux]

From the Department of Anesthesiology Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine Sapporo Hokkaido Japan.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Michiaki Yamakage, Department of Anesthesiology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, South 1, West 16, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8543, Japan. Phone: +81-11-611-2111 (ext. 3568); Fax: +81-11-631-9683; E-mail: yamakage{at}sapmed.ac.jp

Purpose: To review recent findings concerning Ca²⁺ channel subtype/structure/function from electrophysiological and molecular biological studies and to explain Ca²⁺ channel diseases and the actions of anesthetics on Ca²⁺ channels.

Source: The information was obtained from articles published recently and from our published work.

Principal findings: Voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channels serve as one of the important mechanisms for Ca²⁺ influx into the cells, enabling the regulation of intracellular concentration of free Ca²⁺. Recent advances both in electrophysiology and in molecular biology have made it possible to observe channel activity directly and to investigate channel functions at molecular levels. The Ca²⁺ channel can be divided into subtypes according to electrophysiological characteristics, and each subtype has its own gene. The L-type Ca²⁺ channel is the target of a large number of clinically important drugs, especially dihydropyridines, and binding sites of Ca²⁺ antagonists have been clarified. The effects of various kinds of anesthetics in a variety of cell types have been demonstrated, and some clinical effects of anesthetics can be explained by the effects on Ca²⁺ channels. It has recently become apparent that some hereditary diseases such as hypokalemic periodic paralysis result from calcium channelopathies.

Conclusion: Recent advances both in electrophysiology and in molecular biology have made it possible to clarify the Ca²⁺ channel structures, functions, genes, and the anesthetic actions on the channels in detail. The effects of anesthetics on the Ca²⁺ channels either of patients with hereditary channelopathies or using gene mutation techniques are left to be discovered.

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