Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 24, 2026

Ex vivo Method for High Resolution Imaging of Cilia Motility in Rodent Airway Epithelia
Published on: August 8, 2013
Effect of amiloride on human bronchial ciliary activity in vitro
G Di Benedetto1, M T Lopez-Vidriero, L Carratù
1Department of Thoracic Medicine, Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine, London, UK.
Abstract:
Amiloride (AM) reduces mucociliary transport in the frog palate in vitro preparation, whereas in vivo inhalation of AM enhances mucociliary and cough clearance in cystic fibrosis patients. AM influences the bioelectric properties of the respiratory mucosa, and since electrical activity and ciliary activity are strictly related in the beating cell, an effect on ciliary function cannot be excluded. We have, therefore, investigated the effect of AM (10(-7) to 10(-3) M) in vitro on the ciliary activity of ten samples of healthy human bronchial epithelium at 37 degrees C. The baseline ciliary beat frequency was 13.7 +/- (SD) 1.0 Hz. At concentrations of AM of 10(-4) and 10(-3) M, small statistically significant (p less than 0.01) increases in ciliary beat frequency were recorded only after 1 min of exposure to the drug, with changes of +8.2 and +7.6%, respectively. We conclude that (1) AM affects the ciliary activity of the beating cell, but (2) because of the weakness and short duration of the effect, it is unlikely that AM plays a major role on mucociliary transport.
More Related Videos
10:18Real-Time, Semi-Automated Fluorescent Measurement of the Airway Surface Liquid pH of Primary Human Airway Epithelial Cells
Published on: June 13, 2019
11:13Collection, Expansion, and Differentiation of Primary Human Nasal Epithelial Cell Models for Quantification of Cilia Beat Frequency
Published on: November 10, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Mechanism of Ciliary Motion
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Therapeutic Uses
Open Angle Glaucoma: Treatment
Drugs such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, α2- and...
Antihypertensive Drugs: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Antihypertensive Drugs: Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers
Heart Failure Drugs: Inhibitors of Renin-Angiotensin System