About

Ion channels and transporters (ICTs) are essential in organs like the kidney, heart, and nervous system, where they regulate key processes such as membrane potential, electrical excitability, and secretion. While hundreds of ICTs and regulatory proteins manage ion flow across membranes, including Ca²⁺, K⁺, and Cl⁻, their roles in immune cells have traditionally gained much less attention. Immune cells, which are non-excitable, are often overlooked by ion channel researchers, and ICTs are not part of the standard immunology curriculum despite their importance for immune cell function. This gap, which may be explained by technological and conceptual divides between immunology and ion channel physiology, has slowed research progress and resulted in a lack of FDA-approved drugs targeting ICTs for the treatment of immunological disorders. The importance of ICTs in immunity is underscored by genetic mutations in genes encoding ICTs such as ORAI1, STIM1, LRRC8A and ZIP7 that result in channelopathies characterized by defects in immune cell development and function. As new technologies and animal models to study the structure and function of ICTs, and their physiological roles in immunity become available, knowledge about ICTs in immune cell function is rapidly expanding. This creates new opportunities for ICT-targeted therapies for diseases including asthma, inflammation and autoimmunity. The goal of ImmunoChannels is to further this burgeoning field by bringing together scientists with a shared interest in ICTs in immunity.