Ion channels in health and disease

Ion channels are key molecules for signal transduction across biological membranes. Combining physiological experiments with DNA sequence data has recently linked many diseases to defects in ion channels and, to acknowledge this, the term ‘channelopathies’ has been coined. While drugs acting on ion channels have long been used as therapeutics, their potential for specific treatment of channelopathies is only now beginning to be elucidated. Plasma membrane ion channels are easy to access and are often expressed at relatively low concentrations in specified cells and tissues, which can make them excellent targets for drug design. While new ion channels are still being characterized, an important dimension has been added to ion channel research: understanding their relevance in pathophysiological processes and ion channel linked diseases. To acknowledge this development, the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (http:// www.bifonds.de), an independent foundation for basic research in medicine, has focussed its 83rd International Titisee Conference on ‘Ion channels in health and disease’. About 50 researchers from Europe, USA and Japan met in Titisee, Germany from March 21–25, 2001 to learn from each other how different ion channels are involved in physiological and pathophysiological cell functions. The discussed channel defects and the correlated diseases are summarized and referenced in Table I. In the following report, ion channels are grouped according to their selectivity and their activation mechanism.