Patent ID: 8097422

Claim:
A method for identifying an agent that modulates an inwardly rectifying potassium channel activity, which comprises: (a) inserting in silico a structure of an agent into a three-dimensional structure of an alcohol binding site of a Kir 2 or Kir 3 channel protein; (b) comparing the fit of the agent in the three-dimensional structure with the fit of an alcohol in the three-dimensional structure, whereby an agent having a fit comparable to the fit of the alcohol is identified as a candidate agent that binds to a Kir 2 or Kir 3 channel protein; (c) contacting a Kir 2 or Kir 3 channel protein with a candidate agent identified according to step (b); and (d) detecting a Kir 2 or Kir 3 channel activity, whereby an agent that alters the activity relative to a control activity determined without the agent is identified as an agent that modulates the inwardly rectifying potassium channel activity.