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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Mutagenesis and Functional Analysis of Ion Channels Heterologously Expressed in Mammalian Cells
Published on: October 2, 2010
Physical and functional interaction between integrins and hERG potassium channels
A Arcangeli1, A Becchetti, A Cherubini
1Department of Experimental Pathology and Oncology, University of Firenze, Italy. annarosa.arcangeli@unifi.it
Abstract:
Integrins are adhesion receptors capable of transmitting intracellular signals that regulate many different cellular functions. Among integrin-mediated signals, the activation of ion channels can be included. We demonstrated that a long-lasting activation of hERG (human ether-a-go-go-related gene) potassium channels occurs in both human neuroblastoma and leukaemia cells after the activation of the beta1 integrin subunit. This activation is apparently a determining factor inducing neurite extension and osteoclastic differentiation in both the cell types. More recently, we provided evidences that beta1 integrins and hERG channels co-precipitate in both the cell types. Preliminary results suggest that a macromolecular signalling complex indeed occurs between integrins and the hERG1 protein and that hERG channel activity can modulate integrin downstream signalling.
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