Use
Because ShK toxin is a specific inhibitor of Kv1.1, Kv1.3, Kv1.6, Kv3.2 and KCa3.1, it may serve as a useful pharmacological tool for studying these channels. The Kv1.3 specific ShK analogs, ShK-170, ShK-186 and ShK-192, have been demonstrated to be effective in rat models of autoimmune diseases, and these or related analogs might have use as therapeutics for human autoimmune diseases.
Kv1.3 is also considered a therapeutic target for the treatment of obesity, for enhancing peripheral insulin sensitivity in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus, and for preventing bone resorption in periodontal disease. Furthermore, because pancreatic beta cells, which have Kv3.2 channels, are thought to play a role in glucose-dependent firing, ShK, as a Kv3.2 blocker, might be useful in the treatment of type-2 diabetes, although inhibition of the delayed-rectifier current has not yet been observed in human cells even when very high ShK concentrations were used.
Read more about this topic: Stichodactyla Toxin
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