To Be or Not to Be an Ion Channel: Cryo-EM Structures Have a Say.

ABSTRACT: Ion channels are the second largest class of drug targets after G protein-coupled receptors. In addition to well-recognized ones like voltage-gated Na/K/Ca channels in the heart and neurons, novel ion channels are continuously discovered in both excitable and non-excitable cells and demonstrated to play important roles in many physiological processes and diseases such as developmental disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. However, in the field of ion channel discovery, there are an unignorable number of published studies that are unsolid and misleading. Despite being the gold standard of a functional assay for ion channels, electrophysiological recordings are often accompanied by electrical noise, leak conductance, and background currents of the membrane system. These unwanted

SUBMITTER: Chen GL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10378246 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature