Water-handling epithelia are sensitive to the osmotic environment. In this study, the effects of a hypo-osmotic challenge on carbachol (CCh)-induced fluid secretion was investigated using an ex vivo submandibular gland perfusion technique and intracellular pH and Ca(2+) measurements. The osmolality of the perfusion solution was altered to examine the response of the gland to a hypotonic challen...

OBJECTIVE To develop an in vitro model under conditions that highly resemble the in vivo situation for searching new therapeutics targeting invasive glioma cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS We generated organotypic brain slice "co-cultures" (OBSC) from mice and cultured the models on Millicell-CM membrane inserts. U251MG glioma cells expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were establ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Vasoconstrictor-induced rhythmic contraction of arteries or veins has been observed both in vivo and in vitro. Many studies have reported that gap junctions, ryanodine receptors, Na+, K+-ATPase and other factors are involved in vasoconstrictor-induced rhythmic contraction in vascular smooth muscle. However, the mechanism is still not completely understood. METHODS We used vess...

Albinism has a profound effect on visual development and visual function. Pharmacologically significant alterations of the two most important chloride-transporters--KCC2 (outward transporter) and NKCC1 (inward transporter)--functions were found in albino visual cortex neurons, comprising a higher NKCC1 and a lower KCC2 action. In this study, we compare the early postnatal development of the rev...

The authors investigate the effect of bumetan ide, an inhibitor of NKCC1 and a loop diuretic, on the tone of human umbilical artery (HUA). Rings of HUA (n = 35) from vaginal deliveries were suspended for isometric tension recordings in organ baths. Cumulative concentration-response curves to serotonin, histamine, and KCl were performed in the absence (control) or in the presence of bumetanide. ...

How extrinsic stimuli and intrinsic factors interact to regulate continuous neurogenesis in the postnatal mammalian brain is unknown. Here we show that regulation of dendritic development of newborn neurons by Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) during adult hippocampal neurogenesis requires neurotransmitter GABA-induced, NKCC1-dependent depolarization through a convergence onto the AKT-mTOR p...

Excitatory GABA action induced by high [Cl(-)](i) is thought to contribute to seizure generation in neonatal neurons although the mechanism of this effect remains unclear. We report that bumetanide, a NKCC1 antagonist, reduces driving force of GABA-mediated currents (DF(GABA)) in neonatal hippocampal neurons and blocks the giant depolarizing potentials (GDPs), a spontaneous pattern of network a...

Type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1Rs) are widely expressed in the vertebrate retina, but the role of endocannabinoids in vision is not fully understood. Here, we identified a novel mechanism underlying a CB1R-mediated increase in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) intrinsic excitability acting through AMPK-dependent inhibition of NKCC1 activity. Clomeleon imaging and patch clamp recordings revealed tha...