Development of phenotypic assays for identifying novel blockers of L-type calcium channels in neurons

L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) are highly expressed in the heart and brain and are critical for cardiac and neuronal functions. LTCC-blocking drugs have a long and successful record in the clinic for treating cardiovascular disorders. In contrast, establishment of their efficacy for indications of the central nervous system remains challenging given the tendency of existing LTCC drugs being functionally and mechanistically more selective for peripheral tissues. LTCCs in vivo are large macromolecular complexes consisting of a pore-forming subunit and other modulatory proteins, some of which may be neuro-specific and potentially harbor mechanisms for neuronal selectivity. To exploit the possibility of identifying mechanistically novel and/or neuro-selective blockers, we developed two phenotypic assays—a calcium flux-based primary screening assay and a patch clamp secondary assay, using rat primary cortical cultures. We screened a library comprised of 1278 known bioactive agents and successfully identified a majority of the potent LTCC-blocking drugs in the library. Significantly, we identified a previously unrecognized LTCC blocker with a novel mechanism, which was corroborated by patch clamp and binding studies. As such, these phenotypic assays are robust and represent an important step towards identifying mechanistically novel and neuro-selective LTCC blockers.