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Related Concept Videos

Mechanically-gated Ion Channels01:12

Mechanically-gated Ion Channels

Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
Mechanically-gated Ion Channels01:12

Mechanically-gated Ion Channels

Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
Ion Channels01:19

Ion Channels

The movement of ions like sodium, potassium, and calcium into and out of the cell is essential to maintain the electrochemical gradient in living cells. The ion channels—a class of membrane transport proteins—help maintain this ionic gradient for the smooth functioning of physiological activities such as maintaining cell size and volume, conducting nerve impulses, and gas and nutrient exchange.
Ion channels are specialized integral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane that allow specific...
Voltage-gated Ion Channels01:26

Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
Generally, all voltage-gated ion channels have a 'voltage-sensing domain' that spans the lipid bilayer. The charged residues in the sensor move in response to the membrane potential changes that open the channel allowing ions movement. There are several types of...
Voltage-gated Ion Channels01:26

Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
Generally, all voltage-gated ion channels have a 'voltage-sensing domain' that spans the lipid bilayer. The charged residues in the sensor move in response to the membrane potential changes that open the channel allowing ions movement. There are several types of...
Non-gated Ion Channels01:24

Non-gated Ion Channels

Ion channels are specialized proteins on the plasma membrane that allow charged ions to pass down their electrochemical gradient. Their main function is to maintain the membrane potential which is critical for cell viability. These channels are either gated or non-gated and can transport more than a thousand ions within milliseconds for the cellular event to occur.
Compared to the gated ion channels, the non-gated channels, also known as leakage or passive channels, have no gating mechanism.

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A mechanosensitive ion channel regulating cell volume.

Susan Z Hua1, Philip A Gottlieb, Jinseok Heo

  • 1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. zhua@buffalo.edu

American Journal of Physiology. Cell Physiology
|May 12, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cells use mechanosensitive ion channels for volume regulation. A specific inhibitor blocked this process in NRK-49F cells, revealing specialized roles for these channels in cell volume control.

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Ex Vivo Analysis of Mechanically Activated Ca2+ Transients in Urothelial Cells
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Ex Vivo Analysis of Mechanically Activated Ca2+ Transients in Urothelial Cells

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Ex Vivo Analysis of Mechanically Activated Ca2+ Transients in Urothelial Cells

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Physiology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Cells regulate their volume through a process called regulatory volume decrease (RVD) following osmotic challenges.
  • Cationic mechanosensitive ion channels, activated by membrane tension, are hypothesized to be key sensors in RVD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of cationic mechanosensitive ion channels in RVD.
  • To differentiate between various mechanosensitive channel types involved in cell volume regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a microfluidic device for precise cell volume measurement.
  • Employed GsMTx4, a specific inhibitor of cationic mechanosensitive channels, and Gadolinium (Gd3+), a non-specific blocker.
  • Performed single-channel electrophysiology on cell membrane patches.

Main Results:

  • GsMTx4 selectively inhibited RVD and calcium uptake in normal rat kidney (NRK-49F) cells, but not in primary rat astrocytes or Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells.
  • Gadolinium inhibited RVD in all tested cell types, indicating the presence of at least two distinct volume-sensing mechanisms.
  • Single-channel recordings confirmed the presence of stretch-activated currents inhibited by GsMTx4.

Conclusions:

  • Mechanosensitive channels play a specialized role in cellular volume sensing during RVD.
  • NRK-49F cells serve as a valuable model for drug screening targeting mechanosensory channels and for cloning these channels.