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Patch Clamp Electrophysiology pp 133–155Cite as

Utilising Automated Electrophysiological Platforms in Epilepsy Research

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 2188)

Abstract

Genetic mutations have long been implicated in epilepsy, particularly in genes that encode ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors. Among some of those identified are voltage-gated sodium, potassium and calcium channels, and ligand-gated gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine (CHRN), and glutamate receptors, making them key therapeutic targets. In this chapter we discuss the use of automated electrophysiological technologies to examine the impact of gene defects in two potassium channels associated with different epilepsy syndromes. The hKCNC1 gene encodes the voltage-gated potassium channel hKV3.1, and mutations in this gene cause progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME) and ataxia due to a potassium channel mutation (MEAK). The hKCNT1 gene encodes the weakly voltage-dependent sodium-activated potassium channel hKCNT1, and mutations in this gene cause a wide spectrum of seizure disorders, including severe autosomal dominant sleep-related hypermotor epilepsy (ADSHE) and epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS), both conditions associated with drug-resistance. Importantly, both of these potassium channels play vital roles in regulating neuronal excitability. Since its discovery in the late nineteen seventies, the patch-clamp technique has been regarded as the bench-mark technology for exploring ion channel characteristics. In more recent times, innovations in automated patch-clamp technologies, of which there are many, are enabling the study of ion channels with much greater productivity that manual systems are capable of. Here we describe aspects of Nanion NPC-16 Patchliner, examining the effects of temperature on stably and transiently transfected mammalian cells, the latter of which for most automated systems on the market is quite challenging. Remarkable breakthroughs in the development of other automated electrophysiological technologies, such as multielectrode arrays that support extracellular signal recordings, provide additional features to examine network activity in the area of ion channel research, particularly epilepsy. Both of these automated technologies enable the acquisition of consistent, robust, and reproducible data. Numerous systems have been developed with very similar capabilities, however, not all the systems on the market are adapted to work with primary cells, particularly neurons that can be problematic. This chapter also showcases methods that demonstrate the versatility of Nanion NPC-16 Patchliner and the Multi Channel Systems (MCS) multielectrode array (MEA) assay for acutely dissociated murine primary cortical neurons, enabling the study of potassium channel mutations implicated in severe refractory epilepsies.

Key words

  • Automated electrophysiology
  • Planar patch clamp
  • Planar chip
  • Microfluidics
  • Multielectrode arrays
  • Temperature sensitivity
  • Voltage-gated ion channels
  • Voltage-clamp
  • Current clamp
  • Primary neurons
  • Epilepsy

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Professor S Petrou, whose National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant (1106027) supported the research using mouse primary cortical neurons. The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health is supported by Victorian State Government infrastructure funds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne Brain Centre, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Carol J. Milligan & Svenja Pachernegg

  2. Reproductive Development Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Svenja Pachernegg

Authors
  1. Carol J. Milligan
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  2. Svenja Pachernegg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carol J. Milligan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Dr. Mark Dallas

  2. Sophion Bioscience A/S, Ballerup, Denmark

    Damian Bell

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Milligan, C.J., Pachernegg, S. (2021). Utilising Automated Electrophysiological Platforms in Epilepsy Research. In: Dallas, M., Bell, D. (eds) Patch Clamp Electrophysiology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2188. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0818-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0818-0_7

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