# POTASSIUM CHANNELS AND MURINE THYMIC DEVELOPMENT

> **NIH NIH K08** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 1994 · $80,866

## Abstract

Potassium channels are expressed by  all lymphoid cells.  A requirement
for potassium channels has been demonstrated or inferred during several
stages of T lymphocyte development.  In peripheral blood lymphocytes they
are required for IL2 production. IL2 elaboration and proliferation,
therefore can be regulated in vitro by modulating the plasma membrane
potassium permeability.  There is also a strong correlation between the
expression of abnormal potassium channels and the development of clinical
disease in several murine genetically inherited immune-mediated
lymphoproliferative disorders.  Furthermore, during successive
maturational stages of normal thymic development three distinct potassium
channels of unknown function are expressed by different thymic
subpopulations.  This pattern of expression is temporally associated with
critical maturational events, suggesting that these K+ channels may be
involved.  Or preliminary experiments evaluating the effect of potassium
channel blockers on fetal thymic development support this scenario.  They
have implicated K+ channels specifically in proliferation of CD4-CD8-
fetal thymocytes, TCR expression by CD4+CD8+ fetal thymocytes, and the
emergence of mature CD4+CD8- and CD4-CD8+ thymocytes.  Our studies will
be the first to correlate the expression of multiple K+ channels with
specific physiological and immunobiological functions during thymic
development.  Molecular genetic techniques will be used to systematically
identify each potassium channel expressed by every major murine fetal
thymocyte subpopulation.  The physiologic functions of these involvement
of K+ channels i supporting the steady-state membrane potential and in
signaling events during intrathymic proliferation and maturation.  These
studies will elucidate the mechanism by which potassium channels may
modulate normal T lymphocyte development in the thymus.  It is expect
they will also have implications regarding the mechanisms underlying the
abnormal development associated with certain lymphoid pathologic
conditions and in the future may provide strategies for modulating T cell
development in vivo.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2194609
- **Project number:** 1K08HD001056-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **SAM.gov UEI:** GM1XX56LEP58
- **Principal Investigator:** BRUCE D FREEDMAN
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1994
- **Award amount:** $80,866
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1993-12-01 → 1996-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2194609

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2194609, POTASSIUM CHANNELS AND MURINE THYMIC DEVELOPMENT (1K08HD001056-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2194609. Licensed CC0.

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