Regulation of cardiac ion channels by transcription factors: Looking for new opportunities of druggable targets for the treatment of arrhythmias.

Cardiac electrical activity is governed by different ion channels that generate action potentials. Acquired or inherited abnormalities in the expression and/or function of ion channels usually result in electrophysiological changes that can cause cardiac arrhythmias. Transcription factors (TFs) control gene transcription by binding to specific DNA sequences adjacent to target genes.

The p.P888L SAP97 polymorphism increases the transient outward current (I) and abbreviates the action potential duration and the QT interval.

Synapse-Associated Protein 97 (SAP97) is an anchoring protein that in cardiomyocytes targets to the membrane and regulates Na and K channels. Here we compared the electrophysiological effects of native (WT) and p.P888L SAP97, a common polymorphism.