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SignificanceImmunosuppression by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), especially near tumor surfaces, involves the extracellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS generation in MDSC occurs during the oxidation of NADPH to NADP+, which NOX2 catalyzes. ROS react with the T cell receptor complex, abolishing the antigen presentation, which blocks the immune system elimination of the tumor cells. Extrusion of protons from MDSC by voltage-gated proton channel (Hv1) sustains ROS production. Here, we demonstrate the expression of Hv1 in mouse MDSC. In this way, Hv1 present in MDSC becomes a potential cancer therapeutic target since its inhibition seems to diminish immunosuppression activity in the tumoral microenvironment, allowing cancer cells to be attacked by the immune system.

Being activated by depolarizing voltages and increases in cytoplasmic Ca(2+), voltage- and calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels and their modulatory β-subunits are able to dampen or stop excitatory stimuli in a wide range of cellular types, including both neuronal and nonneuronal tissues. Minimal alterations in BK channel function may contribute to the pathophysiology of several diseases, including hypertension, asthma, cancer, epilepsy, and diabetes. Several gating processes, allosterically coupled to each other, control BK channel activity and are potential targets for regulation by auxiliary β-subunits that are expressed together with the α (BK)-subunit in almost every tissue type where they are found. By measuring gating currents in BK channels coexpressed with chimeras between β1 and β3 or β2 auxiliary subunits, we were able to identify that the cytoplasmic regions of β1 are responsible for the modulation of the voltage sensors. In addition, we narrowed down the structural determinants to the N terminus of β1, which contains two lysine residues (i.e., K3 and K4), which upon substitution virtually abolished the effects of β1 on charge movement. The mechanism by which K3 and K4 stabilize the voltage sensor is not electrostatic but specific, and the α (BK)-residues involved remain to be identified. This is the first report, to our knowledge, where the regulatory effects of the β1-subunit have been clearly assigned to a particular segment, with two pivotal amino acids being responsible for this modulation.

Of the ∼22,000 protein-coding genes in the human genome, an estimated 8,000 are druggable (1). The current drug market targets no more than 450 unique human proteins (1) and many contain antihypertensive, antineoplastic, or anti-inflammatory effects. Receptors, enzymes, and transporter proteins comprise most of the targets. The following protein families are overrepresented: rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors, voltage-gated ion channels, and ligand-gated ion channels (1). Their membrane localization, diverse tissue distribution, and the critical roles played by ion channels in human physiology makes these proteins attractive targets for drug discovery (2). Although worldwide sales of ion channel-targeted drugs are over US$10 billion, ion channels remain significantly underexploited as therapeutic targets (3).