title: Acid-Sensing Ion Channels as Potential Pharmacological Targets in Peripheral and Central Nervous System Diseases.
abstract: Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are widely expressed in the body and represent good sensors for detecting protons. The pH drop in the nervous system is equivalent to ischemia and acidosis, and ASICs are very good detectors in discriminating slight changes in acidity. ASICs are important pharmacological targets being involved in a variety of pathophysiological processes affecting both the peripheral nervous system (e.g., peripheral pain, diabetic neuropathy) and the central nervous system (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, migraine, anxiety, fear, depression, neurodegenerative diseases, etc.). This review discusses the role played by ASICs in different pathologies and the pharmacological agents acting on ASICs that might represent promising drugs. As the majority of above-mentioned pathologies involve not only neuronal dysfunctions but also microvascular alterations, in the next future, ASICs may be also considered as potential pharmacological targets at the vasculature level. Perspectives and limitations in the use of ASICs antagonists and modulators as pharmaceutical agents are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, Section of Anatomy and Histology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; Department of Anatomy, Animal Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Beatrice Mihaela
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Radu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Animal Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Adela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banciu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Animal Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Daniel Dumitru
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Banciu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, Section of Anatomy and Histology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; Department of Life and Environmental Physics, 'Horia Hulubei' National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Magurele, Romania. Electronic address: mihai.radu@univr.it.
authors.forename: Mihai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radu
mesh_terms: D062646:Acid Sensing Ion Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D062565:Acid Sensing Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D062687:Sodium Channel Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D062646:Acid Sensing Ion Channel Blockers; D062565:Acid Sensing Ion Channels; D062687:Sodium Channel Agonists
keywords: Acid-sensing ion channels; Epilepsy; Migraine; Neurodegenerative disorders; Peripheral pain; Pharmacology; Protein–protein coupling; Psychiatric disorders; Stroke