Molecular physiology of renal potassium channels

The application of patch-clamp technique to the study of ion channels showed the enormous diversity of K channels. In the kidney, K channels play an major role in transepithelial K transport, in the regulation of vascular tone, and in cellular proliferation. In the last 5 years, the use of powerful genetic and molecular biological techniques has provided an understanding of the molecular structure of some types of K channels. Although much work remains to be done in this area, the greater challenge will be to integrate the molecular information with the extensive physiological data already available. Finally, the rapidly accumulating knowledge of K channel structure, and the recent appreciation of their possible role in important disease states, such as hypertension, make the study of K channels very exciting.