An improved electrophysiological cellular assay to unlock the pharmacological modulation of the NALCN channelosome

Abstract

The sodium leak channel non-selective (NALCN) is a key regulator of resting membrane potential and cellular excitability in neurons and endocrine cells. Gain-of-function de novo pathogenic variants in NALCN cause severe neurodevelopmental disorders with a broad and heterogeneous clinical spectrum. Partial inhibition of NALCN has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy; however, progress has been limited by the absence of selective pharmacological modulators. This gap largely reflects the lack of a robust heterologous expression system suitable for high-throughput screening, as functional NALCN requires multiple ancillary subunits and its constitutive expression is toxic in commonly used cell lines such as HEK293. To address these challenges, we developed a multitransposon-based approach to generate inducible HEK293 cell lines that stably express the complete NALCN channelosome, including wild-type and disease-associated variants. We further demonstrate that NALCN current expression is cell cycle–dependent, enabling the definition of optimized conditions for consistent and reproducible electrophysiological recordings. Using these cell lines, we conducted a systematic pharmacological characterization of the NALCN channelosome by patch-clamp electrophysiology and identified several candidate modulators that are currently under evaluation. Notably, we revisited NALCN modulation by N -benzhydryl quinuclidine compounds and found that these compounds can restore locomotor phenotypes in an animal model of NALCN gain-of-function. Together, this work establishes a foundational platform for the discovery of NALCN-targeting compounds and opens new therapeutic avenues not only for NALCN-associated neurodevelopmental diseases, but also potentially for psychiatric disorders, chronic pain, and cancer.