Erwin Neher
Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Goettingen, Germany

Abstract:

The neurons of our brain are prime targets for drugs and therapeutic interference. More specifically, receptors on the surface of these cells as well as ion channels, which mediate ion flow across membranes, are key regulators of cellular function. Therefore, few drug molecules, acting on such molecules, can have dramatic effects.

The study of transport-related molecules and of their mechanisms of action has received an enormous boost after Bert Sakmann and myself developed the ‘patch clamp technique‘ for recording of the ion currents flowing through individual channels. Furthermore, the so-called ‘whole-cell‘ mode of the technique allowed researchers to study the electrophysiology of small mammalian cell types – particularly with respect to second messenger-mediated signal cascades.

In this lecture I will sketch the early work, which led to the discovery of ion channels in cellular membranes. I will describe the potential of the patch-clamp technique for the study of cellular signaling, review recent work (by others) on ion channels as molecular targets in drug discovery, and touch on my own recent work on neurotransmitter release.