Microdomain-resolved potassium channel gating as a controllable process: patient-specific excitability landscapes, attractor stability, and closed-loop therapeutic Optimization.

Authors

Guido Attilio Condorelli, Roberto Genova, Ottavio D'Urso, Oana-Maria Dragostin

Published in

Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy. Jun 16, 2026. Epub Jun 16, 2026.

Abstract

Potassium conductances provide a biologically well-established lever for regulating neuronal excitability across heterogeneous disorders, controlling threshold, repolarization, adaptation and bursting at low energetic cost. However, translating this biology into patient-level therapeutic stratification remains an incompletely validated task. This review therefore distinguishes established potassium-channel mechanisms from conceptual integration and future-facing translational proposals.
Drawing on literature identified through searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus (inception - May 2026)advances a patient-level 'excitability fingerprint' as a conceptual translational framework linking microdomain-resolved gating to network stability and future biomarker-enriched therapeutic development. Voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv), big-conductance Ca^{2 +} -activated K⁺ channels (BK)/small-conductance Ca^{2 +} -activated K⁺ channels (SK), inwardly rectifying potassium channels (Kir)/ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP), and two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channels, including TWIK-related acid-sensitive K⁺ channels (TASK)/TWIK-related K⁺ channels (TREK), are gated by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP₂), Ca^{2 +}, redox, and pH across subcellular domains, including glia - neuron K⁺ coupling. A tri-axial fingerprint is defined: electroencephalography (EEG)/high-frequency oscillation (HFO) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) metrics; microdomain tone (PIP₂/redox); and astroglial K⁺ buffering, modulated by age, sex, genetics, and metabolic - inflammatory comorbidities. Biomarker-anchored titration uses electrophysiology (HFO; resting motor threshold [RMT]/motor-evoked potential [MEP]/short-interval intracortical inhibition [SICI]/cortical silent period [CSP]), molecular panels (reduced glutathione [GSH]/glutathione disulfide [GSSG]; cysteine/cystine; acid - base), and patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) assays of PIP₂-dependent M-current rescue.
Fingerprint-guided K⁺ modulation can compress time-to-response and manage network-level risk, supporting standardized pipelines, practical microdomain assays, and response-adaptive, fingerprint-enriched trials to implement individualized therapeutic windows.

PMID:
42299132
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Jun 2026.

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