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Progress on Studies of Functions and Molecular Basis of the Ca2+-activated Cl– Channel
Wang Li1,2, Zhang Hailin1*
1Department of Pharmacology, Hebei Medical University; the Key Laboratory of Neural and Vascular Biology, Ministry of Education; the Key Laboratory of New Drug Pharmacology and Toxicology, Shijiazhuang 050017, China; 2College of Bios
Abstract: Calcium-activated chloride channels (CaCCs)， which play an important role in physiological functions， are gradually recognized since they were first described in the early 1980s by Barish in Xenopus oocytes. However， the molecular identification and pharmacology of CaCCs remained obscure. It was as late as 2008 that independent studies from three laboratories identified a gene encoding transmembrane protein 16A (TMEM16A) as the candidate for CACCs. This finding made it possible that CaCCs could be studied by genetic manipulation. This article reviews the progress on studies of CaCCs functions in different tissues， the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of TMEM16A as potential drug target and their possible role during the process of arrhythmogenesis， myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure.
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