Heterologous Expression of Ion Channels

The use of recombinant DNA technology to clone, sequence, and express ion channels and transporters has powered an enormous acceleration in the understanding of structure-function relationships in these important proteins. Given that most ion channels reside in tissues that are largely inaccessible to direct recording techniques and the general paucity of continuous cell lines expressing defined populations of functional molecules, studying native channels is often difficult and impractical. However, the ability to introduce a recombinant complementary DNA (cDNA) selectively into cells normally devoid of highly expressed ion channels or transporters greatly facilitates the ability of scientists to study the function, subunit associations, regulation, and trafficking of these proteins. This approach has also enabled studies designed to investigate the role of ion channel mutations in inherited diseases.