A review of the pathophysiology and the role of ion channels on bronchial asthma

Indyra Alencar Duarte Figueiredo; Sarah Rebeca Dantas Ferreira; Jayne Muniz Fernandes; Bagnólia Araújo da Silva; Luiz Henrique César Vasconcelos; Fabiana de Andrade Cavalcante

doi:10.3389/fphar.2023.1236550

A review of the pathophysiology and the role of ion channels on bronchial asthma

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Sep 28:14:1236550. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1236550. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Indyra Alencar Duarte Figueiredo¹, Sarah Rebeca Dantas Ferreira¹, Jayne Muniz Fernandes², Bagnólia Araújo da Silva^{1

3}, Luiz Henrique César Vasconcelos^{1

4}, Fabiana de Andrade Cavalcante^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Programa de Pós-graduação em Produtos Naturais e Sintéticos Bioativos, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
² Graduação em Farmácia, Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
³ Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
⁴ Departamento de Fisiologia e Patologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.

Abstract

Asthma is one of the main non-communicable chronic diseases and affects a huge portion of the population. It is a multifactorial disease, classified into several phenotypes, being the allergic the most frequent. The pathophysiological mechanism of asthma involves a Th2-type immune response, with high concentrations of allergen-specific immunoglobulin E, eosinophilia, hyperreactivity and airway remodeling. These mechanisms are orchestrated by intracellular signaling from effector cells, such as lymphocytes and eosinophils. Ion channels play a fundamental role in maintaining the inflammatory response on asthma. In particular, transient receptor potential (TRP), stock-operated Ca²⁺ channels (SOCs), Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels (IK_Ca and BK_Ca), calcium-activated chloride channel (TMEM16A), cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1 (PIEZO1) and purinergic P2X receptor (P2X). The recognition of the participation of these channels in the pathological process of asthma is important, as they become pharmacological targets for the discovery of new drugs and/or pharmacological tools that effectively help the pharmacotherapeutic follow-up of this disease, as well as the more specific mechanisms involved in worsening asthma.

Keywords: CFTR; KCa channels; ORAI channels; P2X receptor; Piezo1 channel; TMEM16A channel; TRP channels; asthma.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for providing financial support.