Therapeutic Potential of N-Type Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channel

Abstract

Voltage-gated N-type Ca 2+ channels (NCCs) play dominant roles in neuropathic pain and cerebral ischemia. Ion channel therapeutics for many patho-physiological conditions exists, which include: affective disorders, allergic disorders, autoimmune diseases, epilepsy, hypertension, insomnia, pain, anesthesia, anxiety, and stroke. Experimentally, it was well established that NCC inhibitory activity is essential for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain and stroke. A major obstacle with these membrane proteins is that the atomic resolution experimental structures are not available to understand the mode of small molecule binding at its active sites. This article mainly focuses on Ca 2+ channel blockers (CCBs), especially for NCCs, wherein lie some of the opportunities and advantages associated with these channels as drug target.