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Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Reconstitution of a Kv Channel into Lipid Membranes for Structural and Functional Studies
Published on: July 13, 2013
Isolation of transport vesicles that deliver ion channels to the cell surface
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-9223, USA.
Abstract:
The squid giant axon provides a very simple preparation for the collection of bulk quantities of transport vesicles, and this greatly facilitates the physiologic study of ion channels incorporated into planar bilayers from these vesicles. However, this preparation is also limited in the repertoire of transport vesicles that can be studied, and it is not very convenient for some biochemical techniques, such as pulse-chase labeling experiments. Cultured N1E-115 cells, on the other hand, provide a preparation from which a larger repertoire of types of transport vesicles can be isolated, and many biochemical techniques can be applied in conjunction with physiologic studies. Further refinement of the techniques for isolating specific populations of vesicles from cultured cells will provide even greater insight into the role of vesicles in mediating ion channel trafficking.
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