Merck, SCC295, hERG1a/1b Inducible HEK293 Cell Line

HERG channel inhibition assays for preclinical cardiac safety screening of new drug compounds use electorphysiological methodology and employ hERG-expressing recombinant cell lines. Despite evidence that the cardiac IKr potassium current is produced by heteromeric hERG1a/1b channels1, 2, 3, drug screening assays have long relied on homomeric hERG1a alone, because of the instability of hERG 1b expression in so-called “stable” recombinant cell lines4. The novel inducible hERG1a/1b heteromeric cell line offers an improved tool for preclinical cardiac toxicity screening, by enabling more accurate predictions of off-target drug effects on cardiac IKr, particularly in computational models relying on accurate IC50 measurements. hERG1a/1b cells also can facilitate the study of heteromeric assembly of the hERG 1a and 1b subunits during biogenesis.5