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Thallium Flux Assay for Measuring the Activity of Monovalent Cation Channels and Transporters

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Potassium Channels

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1684))

Abstract

Monovalent cation channels are critically important for physiological processes ranging from the control of neuronal excitability to the maintenance of solute balance. Mutations in these channels are associated with a multiplicity of diseases and monovalent cation channel-modulating drugs are used as therapeutics. Techniques that allow the measurement of the activity of these ion channels are useful for exploring their many biological roles as well as enabling the discovery and characterization of ion channel modulators for the purposes of drug discovery. Although there are numerous techniques for measuring the activity of monovalent cation channels, the thallium flux assay technique is a widely used fluorescence-based approach. Described herein is a method for using the thallium-flux technique for detecting and quantifying the activity of small-molecule potassium channel modulators in 384-well plates.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the Vanderbilt Department of Pharmacology and the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology.

Conflict of Interest: CDW receives royalties from the sales of the Panoptic kinetic imaging plate reader, ThaLux Green, and the FLIPR Potassium Assay Kit. CDW is an owner of WaveFront Biosciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 461 Preston Research Bldg., 2222 Piece Ave, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    C. David Weaver

Authors
  1. C. David Weaver
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Correspondence to C. David Weaver .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Show-Ling Shyng

  2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Francis I. Valiyaveetil

  3. The Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Matt Whorton

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Weaver, C.D. (2018). Thallium Flux Assay for Measuring the Activity of Monovalent Cation Channels and Transporters. In: Shyng, SL., Valiyaveetil, F., Whorton, M. (eds) Potassium Channels. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1684. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7362-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7362-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7361-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7362-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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