Assay Method Information
Assay Name:  In Vitro Assay (MP)
Description:  The assay buffer was formulated by removing 120 mL from a 1 L bottle of fresh, sterile dH2O (Mediatech, Herndon, Va.) and adding 100 mL of 10×HBSS that does not contain Ca++ or Mg++ (Gibco, Invitrogen, Grand Island, N.Y.) followed by 20 mL of 1.0 M Hepes, pH 7.3 (Fisher Scientific, BP299-100). The final buffer consisted of 20 mM Hepes, pH 7.3, 1.261 mM CaCl2, 0.493 mM MgCl2, 0.407 mM Mg(SO)4, 5.33 mM KCl, 0.441 mM KH2PO4, 137 mM NaCl, 0.336 mM Na2HPO4 and 0.556 mM D-glucose (Hanks et al., Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 71:196 (1949)), and the simple formulation was typically the basic buffer throughout the assay (i.e., all wash and addition steps). The fluorescence indicator used in the primary fluorescence assay was the cell permeant version of CoroNa Green (Invitrogen, Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oreg.), a dye that emits light in the fluorescence range (Harootunian et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264(32):19458-19467 (1989)). A fluorescence indicator that can be used in alternative fluorescence assays is the blue version membrane potential dye (MDS, Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif.), a dye that detects changes in molecules following a change in membrane potential. An increase in fluorescence is expected if agonist stimulation provokes a change in membrane potential. Cells expressing Nav1.7 or other sodium channels are incubated with the membrane potential dye 30-60 minutes before the fluorescence assay. In the case of the KCl pre-stimulation version of the assay, the dye and all other components are washed out immediately before the assay, and the dye is then replaced. In the version lacking KCl pre-stimulation, the dye remains on the cells and is not washed out or replaced. The dye is stored in the dark as a lyophilized powder, and then an aliquot dissolved in assay buffer to form a 20×-concentrated stock solution that can be used for several weeks.
Affinity data for this assay
 
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