It is now over 30 years since the idea of ion-conducting pores burst on the elec trophysiological scene, 15 years since these were generalIy realized to be mem brane-spanning proteins, and 10 years since the first observations of single ion channels from higher organisms were made. During the past 5 years, several integral membrane channel proteins have been purified in a functionalIy competent state: the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the Na + channel, mitochondrial "VDAC," and a variety of porins. The stage is thus set to attack ion channels in the same ways that biochemists have been attacking enzymes for decades: isolation folIowed by functional analysis in as simple a system as possible, with a view towards understanding the molecular mechanisms ofthe protein's behavior and how this is related to the underlying molecular structure. This is always a daunting task, alI the more so with ion channels because of our still primitive and scanty understanding of channel structures and because of the difficulty in iso lating functionally active channel proteins. In this volume, which can be considered a biochemically slanted companion to Sakmann and Neher's Single-Channel Recording, I have tried to present a view of the current landscape of ion-channel reconstitution. These chapters illustrate not only the different approaches and techniques of the major practitioners of ion channel reconstitution but, as importantly, the varied motivations for doing this kind of work.

Ion Channels Part A, Volume 651 in the Methods in Enzymology series, highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of new developments on the topic. Each chapter is written by an international board of authors. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series

Piezo Channels, Volume 79, the latest volume in the Current Topics in Membranes series provides the necessary membrane research to assist readers in discovering the current state of a particular field and future directions. New chapters in the updated volume include A Tour de Force: The Discovery, Properties, and Function of Piezo Channels, Piezo1 Channels in Vascular Development and the Sensing of Shear Stress, the Origin of the Force: The Force-From-Lipids Principle Applied to Piezo Channels, Genetic Diseases of PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 Dysfunction, and The Structural Basis for Sensing by the Piezo1 Protein. Users of this series will find an up-to-date presentation of the current knowledge in the field of Piezo Channels. - Written by leading experts in the field - Contains original material, both textual and illustrative, that make it a very relevant reference - Presented in a very comprehensive manner - Ideal reference for both researchers in the field and general readers who will find this book to be relevant and up-to-date

Ion Channels, Part C, Volume 653 in the Methods in Enzymology series, highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of topics, including Nonsense suppression in ion channels, Engineering Ion Channels Using Protein Trans-splicing, Probing Ion Channel Neighborhoods Using APEX, STX based probes for NaVs, ANAP: a versatile, fluorescent probe of ion channel gating and regulation, High Throughput Screens for Small Molecule Ion Channel Modulators, Using toxins to study ion channels, Re/de-constructing ubiquitin regulation of ion channels, Tethered Peptide Toxins for Ion Channels, Voltage-Sensing Phosphatase Molecular Engineering, and more. Additional chapters cover Engineering excitable cells, Stretch and Poke Stimulation of Mechanically-Activated Ion Channels, Optical Control of STIM Channels, High Throughput Electrophysiological Evaluation of Mutant Ion Channels, Evaluating BEST1 Mutations in RPE Stem Cells, Long Read Transcript Profiling of Ion Channel Splice Variants, Permeation of Connexin Channels, Ratiometric pH indicator for melanosomes and lysosomes, and Ion channels in the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series

Vertebrate Hair Cells provides a current overview of the mechanosensory receptor cells of the vertebrate inner ear. Each chapter is written by experimentalists active in exploring a particular set of questions in an aspect of hair cell function, including development, transduction, and synaptic transmission. Experimental approaches described include molecular, genetic, ultrastructural, biophysical and computational. Thus, each chapter covers not just what we know, but how we have learned it and the implications for future work. The experimental focus differentiates this book from general textbooks and targets an advanced audience, from senior undergraduates through to scientists in the field of hair cell research.

Ion Channels Part B, Volume 652 in the Methods in Enzymology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of topics, including NMDAR, Pannexin, and CALHM, Making NaV1.4 and NaV1.7, TRPVs, Purification native nAChRs, GABAR Radu Aricescu, TRPV5/2, NaV1.5, KATP, TRPA1, TREK-1, SARS-CoV-2 3a ion channel, Ion channel conformational dynamics by encoded unnatural amino acid, Fluorescence lifetime measurement of absolute membrane potential, Fluorescent Toxins as Activity Sensors, FRET Analyses of Ion Channel Protein-Protein Interactions, Control of Ion Channel Gating with Photo-Switchable Tweezers, and Counting Subunits in Kv Channel Complexes. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series

This book explores the latest data dealing with mechanosensitive channels research results. It was compiled by a group of internationally recognized scientists leading in the field of mechanosensitive ion channels or mechanically gated channels and signaling cascades research. Key problems of cell mechanobiology are also discussed. As a whole, the volume dwells on the major issues of mechanical stress influencing the ion channels and intracellular signaling pathways.

Ion channels are membrane proteins that act as gated pathways for the movement of ions across cell membranes. They play essential roles in the physiology of all cells. In recent years, an ever-increasing number of human and animal diseases have been found to result from defects in ion channel function. Most of these diseases arise from mutations in the genes encoding ion channel proteins, and they are now referred to as the channelopathies. Ion Channels and Disease provides an informative and up-to-date account of our present understanding of ion channels and the molecular basis of ion channel diseases. It includes a basic introduction to the relevant aspects of molecular biology and biophysics and a brief description of the principal methods used to study channelopathies. For each channel, the relationship between its molecular structure and its functional properties is discussed and ways in which genetic mutations produce the disease phenotype are considered. This book is intended for research workers and clinicians, as well as graduates and advanced undergraduates. The text is clear and lively and assumes little knowledge, yet it takes the reader to frontiers of what is currently known about this most exciting and medically important area of physiology. Introduces the relevant aspects of molecular biology and biophysics Describes the principal methods used to study channelopathies Considers single classes of ion channels with summaries of the physiological role, subunit composition, molecular structure and chromosomal location, plus the relationship between channel structure and function Looks at those diseases associated with defective channel structures and regulation, including mutations affecting channel function and to what extent this change in channel function can account for the clinical phenotype

This book merges approaches in understanding the function of the light-gated ion channels known as channelrhodopsin together with methods addressing how channelrhodopsins can be used to address biomedical questions on a cellular or organismal level. Since the first molecular identification of channelrhodopsins, a broad range of tools have been created and new approaches developed to both better understand the molecular determinants of channelrhodopsin function as well as to use these and homologous proteins from a variety of species as tools to better understand physiological processes, which this volume addresses. Additionally, channelrhodopsins have become instrumental as a potential treatment for disease states. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Channelrhodopsin: Methods and Protocols provides a resource for those interested in honing their current expertise in this vital area of study as well as potentially branching out into new directions.