Potassium Channels and Their Potential Roles in Substance Use Disorders

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are ubiquitous throughout the world. However, much remains to be done to develop pharmacotherapies that are very efficacious because the focus has been mostly on using dopaminergic agents or opioid agonists. Herein we discuss the potential of using potassium channel ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2021-01, Vol.22 (3), p.1249
Main Authors: McCoy, Michael T, Jayanthi, Subramaniam, Cadet, Jean Lud
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action potential
Agonists
alcohol
Alcohol use
Amphetamines
Channels
Cocaine
Dopamine
Dopamine receptors
Drug abuse
Drug therapy
Drug use
Ethanol
Firing rate
Gene expression
Homeostasis
Methamphetamine
Narcotics
Neurons
Opioids
pharmacotherapy
Physiology
Polyamines
Potassium
Potassium channels
Review
Substance use disorder
Therapeutic applications
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Summary:Substance use disorders (SUDs) are ubiquitous throughout the world. However, much remains to be done to develop pharmacotherapies that are very efficacious because the focus has been mostly on using dopaminergic agents or opioid agonists. Herein we discuss the potential of using potassium channel activators in SUD treatment because evidence has accumulated to support a role of these channels in the effects of rewarding drugs. Potassium channels regulate neuronal action potential via effects on threshold, burst firing, and firing frequency. They are located in brain regions identified as important for the behavioral responses to rewarding drugs. In addition, their expression profiles are influenced by administration of rewarding substances. Genetic studies have also implicated variants in genes that encode potassium channels. Importantly, administration of potassium agonists have been shown to reduce alcohol intake and to augment the behavioral effects of opioid drugs. Potassium channel expression is also increased in animals with reduced intake of methamphetamine. Together, these results support the idea of further investing in studies that focus on elucidating the role of potassium channels as targets for therapeutic interventions against SUDs.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms22031249