Paul B. Bennett, Jr., Ph.
Sodium channels underlie rapid impulse propagation in neurons and in muscle.
Potassium channels restore the polarized state of excitable cells and modulate neurotransmitter release and excitation-contraction coupling. Recombinant and channels are being investigated in Dr. Bennett's laboratory to determine how these proteins function and are regulated. Subunit assembly, protein phosphorylation, as well as pharmacological ligands all modulate these channel proteins. Recombinant DNA techniques are used in combination with heterologous expression and patch clamp methods to explore ion channel structure-function relationships. Modifications of protein structure by in vitro mutagenesis coupled with high resolution measurements of channel function provide the best available means to probe the relationship between protein structure and function.