Functional reconstitution of the human epithelial Na+ channel in a mammalian expression system.

Probing ion channel structure-function and regulation in native tissue can, in some instances, be experimentally challenging or impractical. To facilitate discovery and increase experimental flexibility, our laboratory routinely reconstitutes recombinant ion channels in a mammalian expression system quantifying channel activity with patch clamp electrophysiology. Here, we describe investigation of the human epithelial Na+ channel heterologously expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells.