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The method has been generalized to encompass methods to screen a drug for effectiveness as an ion channel blocker.
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Summary Ion channels are implicated in diseases across the cardiovascular, immune, endocrine systems, as well as the central and peripheral nervous systems. They are also essential for cancer metastasis. Since by definition ion channels have an extracellular component, as a class they have been an attractive drug discovery target, be they voltage-gated or ligand-gated, or whether they allow passage of sodium, potassium, calcium, or chloride ions. However, because ion channels are simultaneously ubiquitous and highly variable within a given family (due to their polypeptidic nature), identifying compounds with a wide enough therapeutic window has been challenging. Dr. Xin-Yun Huang of the Weill Cornell Medical College has invented a method to isolate the external vestibule portion of specific voltage-gated ion channels, and use them to raise antibodies, which in turn may be used as therapeutic agents. Screening claims have issued; claims are pending for specific blockers, as well as methods to block specific channels.