Ion Channels and Relevant Drug Screening Approaches

Mechanosensitive ion channels as drug targets.

Mechanically sensitive ion channels (MSCs) are ubiquitous. They exist as two major types: those in specialized receptors that require fibrous proteins to transmit forces to the channel, and those in non-specialized tissues that respond to stress in the lipid bilayer. While few MSCs have been cloned, the existing structures show no sequence or structural homology--an example of convergent evolut...

O 13: Ion Channels in Autoimmune Neurodegeneration

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by widespread inflammation, focal demyelination and a variable degree of axonal and neuronal loss. Ionic conductances regulate T cell activation as well as neuronal function and thus have been found to play a crucial role in MS pathogenesis. Since present therapeutical approaches are only parti...

Nonradioactive Rubidium Efflux Assay Technology for Screening of Ion Channels

Ion Channels and Drug Development Focus on Potassium Channels and Their Modulators

Ion channel modulation has recently become an attractive target for experimental and clinical research in a never ending quest for drug development. Following the decades of domination of calcium channel blockers, currently the focus is on potassium channels and their modulators; this is one of the most rapidly developing field of research. Because potassium channels have an important role in m...

Antiepileptic Drug Targets: An Update on Ion Channels

Different mechanisms of action have been proposed to explain the effects of antiepi‐ leptic drugs (AEDs) including modulation of voltage‐dependent sodium calcium and potassium channels, enhancement of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐mediated neuronal inhibition, and reduction in glutamate‐mediated excitatory transmission. Recent advances in understanding the physiology of ion channels and genetics b...