Dietary Na+ deprivation elicits a hormonal response to promote sodium conservation and a behavioral response to increase sodium ingestion. It has generally been accepted that the former occurs within 24 h after sodium deprivation, while the latter is delayed and may not appear until as much as 10 days later. Na+ deprivation of similar duration also decreases the sensitivity of the chorda tympan...

High dietary sodium intake triggers increased blood pressure (BP). Animal studies show that dietary salt loading results in dermal Na+ accumulation and lymphangiogenesis mediated by VEGF-C (vascular endothelial growth factor C), both attenuating the rise in BP. Our objective was to determine whether these mechanisms function in humans. We assessed skin electrolytes, BP, and plasma VEGF-C in 48 ...

Electrophysiological recording techniques were used to study the Na+ dependence of currents through amiloride-sensitive sodium channels (ASSCs) in rat taste cells from the fungiform and vallate papillae. Perforated patch voltage clamp recordings were made from isolated fungiform and vallate taste receptor cells (TRCs) and Na+ transport was measured across lingual epithelia containing fungiform ...

PURPOSE Cultured rabbit nonpigmented ciliary epithelium (NPE) transports ascorbic acid (ASC) inward through a sodium-dependent mechanism. This study was conducted to test whether Na-K transport is activated to export the additional sodium, which enters the cell in cotransport with ASC. METHODS Studies were conducted using a cell line derived from rabbit NPE. ASC uptake was measured using [14C...

Atthe BK, Babsky AM, Hopewell PN, Phillips CL, Molitoris BA, Bansal N. Early monitoring of acute tubular necrosis in the rat kidney by Na-MRI. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 297: F1288–F1298, 2009. First published September 2, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00388.2009.— Reabsorption of water and other molecules is dependent on the corticomedullary sodium concentration gradient in the kidney. During the...

Sepsis-associated acute renal failure is characterized by decreased GFR and tubular dysfunction. The pathogenesis of endotoxemic tubular dysfunction with failure in urine concentration and increased fractional sodium excretion is poorly understood. This study investigated the regulation of renal sodium transporters during severe inflammation in vivo and in vitro. Injection of high-dosage LPS re...

Amphibians such as frogs can restore lost organs during development, including the lens and tail. To design biomedical therapies for organ repair, it is necessary to develop a detailed understanding of natural regeneration. Recently, ion transport has been implicated as a functional regulator of regeneration. Whereas voltage-gated sodium channels play a well known and important role in propagat...

The effect of reducing the external sodium concentration, [Na](o), on resting potential, action potential, membrane current, and transient current reversal potential in Myxicola giant axons was studied. Tris chloride was used as a substitute for NaCl. Preliminary experiments were carried out to insure that the effect of Tris substitution could be attributed entirely to the reduction in [Na](o)....

OBJECTIVE To provide an overview of the role of voltage-gated sodium channels in pathophysiology of acquired and inherited pain states, and of recent developments that validate these channels as therapeutic targets for treating chronic pain. BACKGROUND Neuropathic and inflammatory pain conditions are major medical needs worldwide with only partial or low efficacy treatment options currently a...

Diabetic neuropathy is a common form of peripheral neuropathy, yet the mechanisms responsible for pain in this disease are poorly understood. Alterations in the expression and function of voltage-gated tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) sodium channels have been implicated in animal models of neuropathic pain, including models of diabetic neuropathy. We investigated the expression and function of T...