[Ion channels and penile erection].
Recently, more and more studies have discovered that some diseases result from gene defect and functional variation of ion channels, which are called ion passage diseases or ion channelopathies. Meanwhile, it has been found that even though many diseases do not fall into the category of the ion passage disease, some links or passages during the disease development are closely related with the malfunction of ion channels, and many drugs can prevent and cure these diseases by acting on ion channels. Therefore, the relationship between physiology/pathophysiology and ion channels is gradually becoming one of the hot topics in the current researches. The recent progress in the researches on the relationship between penile erection and ion channels is briefly reviewed in this article.
Liu
Jihong
J
Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China. jhliu@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn
Chen
Jun
J
D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology; D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000502:physiology; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000235:genetics; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000502:physiology*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000502:physiology
D015220:Calcium Channels; D018118:Chloride Channels; D018031:Connexin 43; D007473:Ion Channels; D015221:Potassium Channels