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(Circulation Research. 2006;99:453.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorials

Molecular pH Probes

Mediators of Angina and Ischemic Preconditioning?

James K. Bubien, Dale J. Benos

From the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Correspondence to Dale J. Benos, Professor and Chairman, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1918 University Blvd, MCLM 704, Birmingham, AL 35294-0005. E-mail benos@physiology.uab.edu

See related articles, pages 501–509 and 510–519

Key Words: ASIC3 • ENT4 • ischemia • angina • ion channels • transporters

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Physiology is an old (some today may consider it an ancient) discipline. However, physiology is, at its core, the discipline that merges structure and function in biological organisms. Over the past 30 years, as technology has advanced, the discipline has gravitated to smaller and smaller systems and structures, going from the whole body to the cell, to subcellular structures, and eventually ending up at the genes. The time has come for a reverse in direction so that the knowledge gained from this progression can now be applied to the multitude of medical conditions that exist at a very macroscopic level.

We now have the means to investigate disease mechanisms with technologies that were not available 30 years ago. Physiology has made tremendous progress in advancing this technology. The Nobel Prize for the invention of the patch clamp is one shining example. One of the articles that this commentary reports on uses this technology at its most effective level, and actually resolves the cellular mechanism that underlies the pain associated with ischemic angina.

In contrast to physiology, molecular biology can still be considered to be in its infancy. While the tools of molecular biology are formidable, the understanding of the outcomes is also formidable. Molecular tools can be used to identify gene products, localize these products to specific tissues, and make an attempt to verify that these gene products perform a physiological function. However, the last point has been problematic. Also, because gene products have been observed in multiple tissue types, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Article:

Sustained Currents Through ASIC3 Ion Channels at the Modest pH Changes That Occur During Myocardial Ischemia

Junichi Yagi, Heather N. Wenk, Ligia A. Naves, and Edwin W. McCleskey
Circ. Res. 2006 99: 501-509. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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