The
channelome, sometimes called the "
ion channelome", is the complete set of
[Doyle, D. A., Morais-Cabral, J., Pfuetzner, R. A., Kuo, A, Gulbis, JM, Cohen, SL, Chait, BT, MacKinnon, R (1998) The structure of the potassium channel: molecular basis of K+ conduction and selectivity. Science 280:69–77.] and
porins[Preston GM, Carroll TP, Guggino WB, Agre P (1992). Appearance of water channels in Xenopus oocytes expressing red cell CHIP28 protein. Science 256(5055): 385–387] expressed in a
biological tissue or organism.
[Barrett-Jolley, R., R. Lewis, et al. (2010). The emerging chondrocyte channelome: Frontiers in Membrane Physiology and Biophysics. ] It is analogous to the
genome, the
metabolome (describing metabolites), the
proteome (describing general
protein expression), and the
microbiome. Characterization of the ion channelome, referred to as
channelomics, is a branch of
physiology,
biophysics,
neuroscience, and
pharmacology, with particular attention paid to
gene expression.
It can be performed by a variety of techniques, including
patch clamp electrophysiology, PCR, and immunohistochemistry.
Functional studies
Structure and function of membrane channels are closely linked,[ Abnormalities of channel structure consequently result in their physiological mis-function. Channelomic studies include the systematic study of diseases resulting from such mis-functions. Such a disease is termed a channelopathy.][ In addition, channelomic studies screen potential drugs for their effectiveness at channelopathies, by examining the binding affinities of candidate drug compounds.][
]
