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Ion channels are transmembrane proteins that allow selective ion permeation through a central pore which opens and closes depending on an external stimulus. In the case of voltage dependent ion channels it is the movement of S4 ' the voltage sensor ' that triggers the opening of the gate in the channel pore (mainly S6). Specific aims of this project are (1) to test that specific pore lining residues in the S6 segment are involved not only in drug binding but also in channel activation, (2) to distinguish between molecular determinants for channel block and agonist effects of fatty acids and antiarrhythmic drugs, and (3) to evaluate whether stable cell lines expressing specific channel subunits can be used in high throughput screening assays for antiarrhythmic drugs or as an in vitro system to assess the anti- or pro-arrhythmic potential of various drugs (antihistaminics, antibiotics). This will be studied using biophysical analysis of ion channel gating using patch clamp techniques in combination with molecular manipulation of the channel structure such as channel chimeras, site-directed mutagenesis, cysteine scanning and site directed fluorescence. The specific clones employed in this study will be hKv1.5, Kv4.2, HERG and KvLQT1 which are major components of repolarizing K currents in cardiac tissue.
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