Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Human brain sodium channels in bilayers.

D S Duch¹, E Recio-Pinto, C Frenkel

¹Department of Anesthesiology, Cornell University Medical College, New York, NY 10021.

|November 1, 1988

Summary

Researchers studied human brain sodium channels using planar lipid bilayers. Batrachotoxin revealed voltage-dependent tetrodotoxin block and asymmetric sodium-to-potassium permeability, confirming the system

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Fast and slow interactions of n-alkanols with human 5-HT3A receptors: Implications for anesthetic mechanisms.

Biochimica et biophysica acta·2015

Same author

Direct effects of morphine but not of fentanyl-type opioids on human 5-HT3A receptors in outside-out patch-clamp studies.

European journal of pain (London, England)·2014

Same author

Development of cyanide-resistant respiration in mitochondria from potato tubers treated with ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetic acid.

Planta·2013

Same author

Which agonist properties are important for the activation of 5-HT3A receptors?

Biochimica et biophysica acta·2013

Same author

Satellite glia cells in dorsal root ganglia express functional NMDA receptors.

Neuroscience·2013

Same author

[Summary of the 6th Conference of postgraduate physicians of the Medical School of the ULB].

Revue medicale de Bruxelles·2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Biophysics
Ion Channel Physiology

Background:

Sodium channels are crucial for neuronal excitability.
Understanding human sodium channel function is vital for neurological research.
The planar lipid bilayer system offers a powerful tool for studying ion channel biophysics.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of sodium channels from the human cortex.
To assess the utility of the planar lipid bilayer system for studying human brain sodium channels.

Main Methods:

Incorporation of human cortical sodium channels into planar lipid bilayers.
Voltage-clamp electrophysiology to measure single channel properties.
Pharmacological manipulation using batrachotoxin and tetrodotoxin.
Determination of ion selectivity and permeability ratios.

Main Results:

Single channel slope conductance was measured at 26 pS.
Tetrodotoxin block exhibited voltage dependence with a K1/2 of 51 nM at 0 mV.
The channel demonstrated asymmetric selectivity for sodium over potassium (PNa/PK ratios of 3.3 and 5.7).
The average channel activation gating midpoint was -91 mV.

Conclusions:

Human brain sodium channels can be successfully reconstituted and studied in planar lipid bilayers.
The planar bilayer system provides a robust platform for electrophysiological and pharmacological investigations of human sodium channels.
These findings validate the use of this system for future research into neurological disorders involving sodium channel dysfunction.

Related Experiment Videos