A SWELL time to develop the molecular pharmacology of the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC)

Autor: Eric E. Figueroa, Jerod S. Denton
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Channels, Vol 16, Iss 1, Pp 27-36 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1933-6950
1933-6969
19336950
DOI: 10.1080/19336950.2022.2033511
Popis: Newly emerging roles of LRRC8 volume-regulated anion channels (VRAC) raise important questions about the therapeutic potential of VRAC in the treatment of epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, and other human diseases. A critical barrier to evaluating whether VRAC represents a viable drug target is the lack of potent and specific small-molecule inhibitors and activators of the channel. Here we review recent progress in developing the molecular pharmacology of VRAC made by screening a library of FDA-approved drugs for novel channel modulators. We discuss the discovery and characterization of cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonists Pranlukast and Zafirlukast as novel VRAC inhibitors, and zinc pyrithione (ZPT), which apparently activates VRAC through a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent mechanism. These ongoing efforts set the stage for developing a pharmacological toolkit for probing the integrative physiology, molecular pharmacology, and therapeutic potential of VRAC.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals