Use-dependent block of voltage-gated Cav2.1 Ca2+ channels by petasins and eudesmol isomers.

Migraine is a frequent and often disabling disease. Treatment is unsatisfactory in many patients. A disturbed dynamic balance between excitatory and inhibitory signal processing with enhanced cortical activity probably underlies common forms of migraine.

Functional properties and modulation of extracellular epitope-tagged Ca(V)2.1 voltage-gated calcium channels.

Depolarisation-induced Ca2+ influx into electrically excitable cells is determined by the density of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels at the cell surface. Surface expression is modulated by physiological stimuli as well as by drugs and can be altered under pathological conditions. Extracellular epitope-tagging of channel subunits allows to quantify their surface expression and to distinguish surface channels from those in intracellular compartments.