The role of the KATP channel in glucose homeostasis in health and disease: More than meets the islet
McTaggart JS., Clark RH., Ashcroft FM.
ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels are critical for the maintenance of glucose homeostasis. They are essential for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, contribute to the mechanisms by which hypoglycaemia stimulates glucagon release from pancreatic α-cells, and are involved in glucose uptake into skeletal muscle, glucose production and release from the liver, and feeding behaviour. Not surprisingly, loss- or gain-of-function mutations in KATP channel genes have profound effects, giving rise to congenital hyperinsulinaemia and neonatal diabetes respectively. This symposium review focuses on our current understanding of the role of the KATP channel in glucose homeostasis in health and disease. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The Physiological Society.