Screening Ion Channels in Cancer Cells

1.4K Views

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06:19 min

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June 16th, 2023

DOI :

10.3791/65427-v

June 16th, 2023

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Laura Kallay¹, Vaibhavkumar S. Gawali¹, Donatien Kamdem Toukam¹, Debanjan Bhattacharya¹, Andrew Jenkins², Soma Sengupta³, Daniel A. Pomeranz Krummel³

¹Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, ²Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Saint Joseph, ³The Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Transcript

The function of ion channels is crucial in cell biology and significantly impacts cancer growth. Our team is focused on targeting ion channels to aid cancer treatments. The field has recently gained a greater understanding of the tumor microenvironment and how cancer cells take hold in healthy tissue, highlighting the importance of ion channels in cancer.

One of the biggest challenges in current experiment is the availability of immune-competent animal model that can effectively test therapeutic treatments. We have established that GABA A receptor is a therapeutic vulnerability to disparate cancers and identified a new class of GABA A receptor activators that effectively impair cancer cells. Ion channels play a crucial role in regulating cancer cell behavior, and they hold great potential as target for cancer treatment.

Our research has highlighted how an established class of drug can be employed to treat cancer effectively.

Summary

The pharmacological targeting of ion channels is a promising approach to treating solid tumors. Detailed protocols are provided for characterizing ion channel function in cancer cells and assaying the effects of ion channel modulators on cancer viability.

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