Potassium channel mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and their use for screening eukaryotic potassium channels
AssigneeSanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH
InventorsEkkehard Leberer, Thomas Leeuw, Allegra Ritscher
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Abstract
The invention relates to processes for identifying inhibitors and activators of eukaryotic potassium channels, in which a mutated S. cerevisiae cell is used whose endogenous potassium channels TRK1, TRK2 and TOK1 are not expressed functionally, but which expresses heterologously a eukaryotic potassium channel to be studied. Other subject matters of the invention are mutated S. cerevisiae cells which do not express TRK1, TRK2 and TOK1, and the preparation and use of these mutated S. cerevisiae cells.
Claims16
1-24. (canceled)
A process for identifying inhibitors of a human potassium channel,
- a) providing a mutated S. cerevisiae cell which does not express the three endogenous potassium channels TRK1, TRK2 and TOK1;
- b) treating said mutated cell with a human potassium channel wherein said human potassium channel is expressed heterologously in this mutated S. cerevisiae cell;
- c) incubating the mutated S. cerevisiae cell expressing the human potassium channel together with a substance to be tested;
- and
- d) determining the effect of the substance to be tested on the human potassium channel, wherein a decrease in the transport of potassium across the human potassium channel indicates that the substance is an inhibitor of the human potassium channel.
A mutated S. cerevisiae cell in which TRK1, TRK2 and TOK1 are not expressed, and which expresses heterologously a human potassium channel.
A process of identifying activators of a human potassium channel,
- a) providing a mutated S. cerevisiae cell which does not express the three endogenous potassium channels TRK1, TRK2 and TOK1;
- b) reacting said mutated cell with a human potassium channel, wherein said human potassium channel is expressed heterologously in this mutated S. cerevisiae cell;
- c) incubating the mutated S. cerevisiae cell expressing the human potassium channel together with a substance to be tested;
- and
- d) determining the effect of the substance to be tested on the human potassium channel, wherein an increase in the transport of potassium across the human potassium channel indicates that the substance is an activator of the human potassium channel.
A process of identifying activators of a human potassium channel,
- a) providing a mutated S. cerevisiae cell which does not express the three endogenous potassium channels TRK1, TRK2 and TOK1;
- b) reacting said mutated cell with a human potassium channel wherein said human potassium channel is expressed heterologously in this mutated S. cerevisiae cell;
- c) incubating the mutated S. cerevisiae cell expressing the human potassium channel together with a substance to be tested in the presence of an inhibitor of the human potassium channel;
- and
- d) determining the effect of the substance to be tested on the human potassium channel, wherein an increase in the transport of potassium across the human potassium channel indicates that the substance is an activator of the human potassium channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.