Potassium channel blockers as immunosuppressants

Recent advances in the biology of potassium channels have raised their profile as therapeutic targets for immunosuppression. Selective blockade of the intermediate-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1, and in particular, the voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv1.3 holds great promise in the modulation of different subsets of inflammatory T cells and B cells involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Relatively few selective blockers of these channels have been discovered to date, but this situation is likely to change as these channels become increasingly prominent as tractable and selective therapeutic targets, and especially if they are clinically validated as immunosuppressive targets.