Linked Life Data

11512024

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/11512024

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-8-20
pubmed:abstractText
In the study of epithelial cell biology, primary cell cultures or cell lines grown to confluency offer considerable advantages compared with isolated cells and cell clusters. This is due mainly to the development of appropriate cell-to-cell contacts that are a prerequisite for cell polarity and thus vectorial solute transport. On the other hand, electrical coupling via gap junctions in most instances significantly hinders the use of voltage-clamp techniques for electrophysiological analysis of transport processes in single cells. In the present study we employed the gap junctional blocker 18-beta-glycyrrhetinic acid (BGA) to reduce electrical cell-to-cell coupling in confluent primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. In current-clamp experiments, 40 micromol/l BGA reversibly increased apparent cell input resistance approximately tenfold. Due to this partial electrical isolation of cells, two-channel voltage-clamp experiments became feasible and, for the first time, the hypertonicity-induced Na+ conductance of rat hepatocytes could be analysed quantitatively. In ion substitution experiments, however, it became obvious that BGA, while leaving Na+ and K+ conductances virtually unchanged, completely blocked cell membrane Cl- conductance. This additional effect of BGA necessitates independent control experiments to ensure that the transport process under consideration is itself not changed by the compound. Nevertheless, BGA may serve as a powerful tool for the quantitative electrophysiological study of epithelial cells that are in quasi physiological contact with their neighbours.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0031-6768
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
442
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
688-92
pubmed:dateRevised
2003-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
18-beta-Glycyrrhetinic acid (BGA) as an electrical uncoupler for intracellular recordings in confluent monolayer cultures.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article