Three for T: molecular analysis of the low voltage-activated calcium channel family

Abstract

Despite the wealth of information on voltage-gated calcium channels, little is known about low voltage-activated, T-type channels. The ability of the antihypertensive drug mibefradil to selectively block T-type channels has generated much interest in their structure, physiology and pharmacology. This review covers the cloning of a new family of calcium channels, their putative structure, the electrophysiological evidence that demonstrated that these complementary DNAs encoded low voltage-activated, T-type channels, the tissue expression of these genes, and concludes with a discussion of their possible physiological roles.