期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:2016
卷号:113
期号:20
页码:5748-5753
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1602815113
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:K+ channels, a superfamily of ∼80 members, control cell excitability, ion homeostasis, and many forms of cell signaling. Their malfunctions cause numerous diseases including neuronal disorders, cardiac arrhythmia, diabetes, and asthma. Here we present a novel liposome flux assay (LFA) that is applicable to most K+ channels. It is robust, low cost, and high throughput. Using LFA, we performed small molecule screens on three different K+ channels and identified new activators and inhibitors for biological research on channel function and for medicinal development. We further engineered a hERG (human ether-à-go-go-related gene) channel, which, when used in LFA, provides a highly sensitive (zero false negatives on 50 hERG-sensitive drugs) and highly specific (zero false positives on 50 hERG-insensitive drugs), low-cost hERG safety assay.