Inhibition of ERK and JNK decreases both osmosensitive taurine release and cell proliferation in glioma cells.

Cell swelling is associated with the activation of an increase in the osmosensitive taurine release (OTR) rate, which serves to decrease cell volume as part of a process known as regulatory volume decrease. OTR, which is sensitive to many pharmacological agents including anion channel blockers and signalling pathway modulators, has also been suggested to play a role in cell cycle progression. At non-cytotoxic concentrations, the anion channel blocker NPPB (25 microM), the extra-cellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor PD98059 (50 microM), and the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase inhibitor SP 600125 (5 microM) each decreased the OTR rate by > or =50%, decreased cell proliferation, and increased G0/G1 cell cycle arrest.

Volume-sensitive organic osmolyte/anion channels in cancer: novel approaches to studying channel modulation employing proteomics technologies.

Key elements of tumor development include proliferation, migration, invasiveness, and angiogenesis. Activation of the volume-sensitive organic osmolyte/anion channel (VSOAC) has been suggested to play a role in all of these processes. VSOACs may therefore represent an important therapeutic target in the etiology of cancer.

K(V)2.1 channels mediate hypoxic inhibition of I(KV) in native pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells of the rat.

Objective: To determine whether, in native pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC), K(V)2.1 delayed-rectifying K(+) channels are central to the process of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction.

Methods: In this study, we tested for the presence of K(V)2.