Development and Validation of ASIC1a Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Drug Discovery Assays on Automated Patch Clamp Platforms

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are proton-gated ion channels which are highly sensitive to extracellular acidosis and are permeable to cations, predominantly Na+. To date, six different ASIC subunits (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3 and 4) encoded by four genes have been identified. Three subunits assemble to form homomeric or heteromeric channels which are expressed throughout the CNS and PNS. Excitatory ASIC channels have a proposed role in nociception...