Potassium Channels as a Novel Target in Thyroid Diseases

Voltage gated Potassium channels has long been recognized as important for function of excitable cell such as electrical signalling in the brain and rhythmic beating of the heart. These cells generate action potentials, which require voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels for the depolarization phase (upstroke) and voltage-gated potassium (KV) channels for the repolarization phase (downstroke). Recently, ion transporters have been demonstrated on basolateral part of thyrocytes. Potassium channel subunits KCNQ1 and KCNE2, form a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) –stimulated, constitutively active, thyrocyte K+ channel required for normal thyroid hormone biosynthesis and are essential for iodine trapping by Na+/Isymporter (NIS). This has led to new areas of intervention and opened new targets for treatment for thyroid diseases.