In the beginning, there was the cell: cellular homeostasis

In the past 5 years, the biomedical, scientific community has sequenced the genomes of several organisms (including Homo sapiens), has cloned entire organisms and has determine the molecular structures for several membrane proteins. These advances combined with the advances in technology enabling high-throughput drug screening, gene expression readout using DNA chips and evolving proteomic techniques, make it imperative that physiologist and biomedical professionals understand the basis of cellular function and homeostasis. The Cellular Homeostasis Refresher Course at Experimental Biology 2004 in Washington, DC, was designed to fulfill this need. The specific topics covered were 1) generation of membrane potential, 2) an update on cellular mechanisms of ion homeostasis, channels and transporters, and 3) cellular volume homeostasis, and regulation of intracellular pH.