Ashcroft FM. ATP-sensitive K channels and disease: from molecule to malady. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 293: E880–E889, 2007. First published July 24, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00348.2007.—This essay is based on a lecture given to the American Physiological Society in honor of Walter B. Cannon, an advocate of homeostasis. It focuses on the role of the ATP-sensitive potassium K (KATP) channel ...

Cardiac KATP channels link metabolism with electrical activity. They are implicated in arrhythmias, secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide and protection of the heart from hypertrophy and failure. These processes may involve mechanosensitivity. KATP channels can be activated by mechanical stimulation and disrupting the cortical actin increases the activity. We propose that KATP channels are mo...

Metoclopramide, a prokinetic drug, has been documented to produce antinociceptive response in animal models through opioid pathways. Morphine has been shown to act through ATP sensitive potassium channels (KATP) to produce antinociceptive response. However, such a possibility has not been examined for metoclopramide. The present study investigated this using pharmacological tools. Acetic acid i...

BACKGROUND ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in neurons mediate neuroprotection, they regulate membrane excitability, and they control neurotransmitter release. Because loss of DRG neuronal KATP currents is involved in the pathophysiology of pain after peripheral nerve injury, we characterized the distribution of the KATP channel subunits in rat DRG, and determined their alterations by pa...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is closely associated with obesity. Obesity features an abnormality in energy balance with excess energy stored in fat tissues. In T2D, the ability to regulate glucose homeostasis is compromised resulting in hyperglycemia (high levels of blood glucose). Central nervous system (CNS) plays an important role in energy and glucose homeostasis [1]. In normal situations, the neu...

ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels are expressed in many different tissues including the brain,where they couple energy metabolism to cellular excitability.Although their classical role in insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells is well understood, their neuronal function remains unclear.Now,an important study using knockout mice provides clear evidence that neuronal KATP channels are crucial pla...

BACKGROUND We reported that digoxin abolishes the infarct size (IS)-limiting effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Because ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels are involved in IPC, we studied whether Na+,K+-ATPase and KATP channels functionally interact, thereby modulating IPC. METHODS AND RESULTS Rabbits received 30 minutes of coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 hours of reperfusion. IPC...

The ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel, composed of Kir6.2 and sulfonylurea receptor (SUR1), in pancreatic beta-cells is believed to serve as a metabolic sensor regulating insulin secretion according to glucose levels. Thus, genetic disruption of Kir6.2 expression may impair KATP channel function in glucose sensing and insulin secretion. Here we show evidence obtained from functional genetic assay...

Nguyen, Thien-Son, H. Richard Winn, and Damir Janigro. ATP-sensitive potassium channels may participate in the coupling of neuronal activity and cerebrovascular tone. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 278: H878–H885, 2000.—K1 dilate and constrict cerebral vessels in a dosedependent fashion. Modest elevations of abluminal K1 cause vasodilatation, whereas larger extracellular K1 concentration ...

Single mouse cardiomyocytes were exposed to defined ischemia. We designed chambers on glass chips with a volume of 192 pL (picochambers). After a picochamber was loaded with a single cardiomyocyte, P(O2) in the picochamber was equilibrated with that in the headspace, where it was controlled in the critical range between <0.2 and 10 mm Hg. Because the extracellular fluid volume in a picochamber ...