Roles of Lymphocyte Kv1.3-Channels in the Pathogenesis of Renal Diseases and Novel Therapeutic Implications of Targeting the Channels

Figure 1

Kv1.3-channel-induced activation pathway of T lymphocytes. Kv1.3-channels expressed in T lymphocytes facilitate the calcium influx necessary to trigger the lymphocyte activation and proliferation. The rise in the intracellular calcium concentration stimulates the phosphatase calcineurin activity, which then dephosphorylates nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT), enabling it to accumulate in the nucleus and bind to the promoter of the gene encoding interleukin 2 (IL-2).