The jellyfish green fluorescent protein: A new tool for studying ion channel expression and function

Two methods are described for using the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter gene for ion channel expression. GFP fluorescence can be used to identify the transfected cells, and to estimate the relative levels of ion channel expression, in cotransfection experiments. A GFP-NMDAR1 chimera can be constructed that produces a functional, fluorescent receptor subunit. These methods should facilitate studies of ion channel expression, localization, and processing.