Small Current, Big Potential: Bridging Mechanistic Insight of the SK Channel with Translational Promise

Authors

Yang Zheng, University of Arizona
Miao Zhang, Chapman UniversityFollow
Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, University of Arizona

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-24-2025

Abstract

"Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, with a lifetime risk of approximately 1 in 4 for adults aged 40 years and above. Despite advances in clinical management, AF remains a major public health concern. Its burden extends beyond symptoms; it quadruples the risk of heart failure and increases the likelihood of stroke fivefold – strokes that are often more severe and fatal than those unrelated to AF. In the United States alone, AF-associated healthcare costs exceed $26 billion annually, and the cost is projected to grow as the population ages (Ko et al., 2025). Regarding current treatments, anti-coagulation is largely palliative; anti-arrhythmic drugs (AADs) often have limited efficacy and carry proarrhythmic risks; while catheter ablation is invasive and frequently followed by recurrences. Additionally, none of these approaches reverses the underlying electrical and structural remodelling that maintain AF. Therefore, there is a growing need for therapies that target the disease at the mechanistic level while minimizing side effects."

Comments

This article was originally published in Journal of Physiology in 2025. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP289570

Recommended Citation

Zheng, Y., Zhang, M. and Chiamvimonvat, N. (2025), Small current, big potential: bridging mechanistic insight of the SK channel with translational promise. J Physiol. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP289570

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.