Quantitative junctional permeability measurements using the confocal microscope

This paper describes the use of a photobleach method and confocal microscopy to compare the cell-to-cell transfer rate of 5,6 carboxyfluorescein in dissociated embryonic chick lens cells with those in the anterior epithelium of the whole embryonic chick lens. The average cell-to-cell transfer rates obtained were 7.9 x 10(-3) sec-1 in the dissociated cells and 2.6 x 10(-3) sec-1 in the anterior epithelium in an intact lens.