OBJECTIVE We have shown that the chloride-proton antiporter chloride channel-3 (ClC-3) is required for endosome-dependent signaling by the Nox1 NADPH oxidase in SMCs. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that ClC-3 is necessary for proliferation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and contributes to neointimal hyperplasia following vascular injury. METHODS AND RESULTS Studies were performed in S...

UNLABELLED Glomerular protein handling mechanisms have received much attention in studies of nephrotic syndrome. Histopathological findings in renal biopsies from severely proteinuric patients support the likelihood of protein endocytosis by podocytes. ClC-5 is involved in the endocytosis of albumin in the proximal tubule. AIM To investigate whether ClC-5 is expressed in the glomerular compar...

The chloride channel ClC-Kb is expressed in the basolateral cell membrane of the distal nephron and participates in renal NaCl reabsorption. Loss-of-function mutations of ClC-Kb lead to classic Bartter syndrome, a rare salt-wasting disorder. Recently, we identified the ClC-Kb(T481S) polymorphism, which confers a strong gain-of-function effect on the ClC-Kb chloride channel. The present study ha...

To gain insight into the physiological role of a kidney-specific chloride channel, CLC-K2, the exact intrarenal localization was determined by in situ hybridization. In contrast to the inner medullary localization of CLC-K1, the signal of CLC-K2 in our in situ hybridization study was highly evident in the superficial cortex, moderate in the outer medulla, and absent in the inner medulla. To ide...

To characterize the nature of NaCl transport in the thin ascending limb (tAL), we examined the transport properties of Na(+) and Cl(-) using in vitro microperfusion of the tAL in CLC-K1 null mice. In the presence of a transmural NaCl concentration gradient (100 mM higher in the lumen), the transepithelial diffusion voltage (V(d)) was 15.5 +/- 1.0 and -7.6 +/- 1.4 mV in CLC-K1(+/+) and CLC-K1(-/...

Mutations in human CLC-1 chloride channel are associated with the skeletal muscle disorder myotonia congenita. The disease-causing mutant A531V manifests enhanced proteasomal degradation of CLC-1. We recently found that CLC-1 degradation is mediated by cullin 4 ubiquitin ligase complex. It is currently unclear how quality control and protein degradation systems coordinate with each other to pro...

The ClC protein family includes voltage-gated chloride channels and chloride/proton exchangers. In eukaryotes, ClC proteins regulate membrane potential of excitable cells, contribute to epithelial transport, and aid in lysosomal acidification. Although structure/function studies of ClC proteins have been aided greatly by the available crystal structures of a bacterial ClC chloride/proton exchan...

Chloride channel 2 (ClC-2) is one of the nine mammalian members of the ClC family. The present review discusses the molecular properties of ClC‑2, including CLCN2, ClC‑2 promoter and the structural properties of ClC‑2 protein; physiological properties; functional properties, including the regulation of cell volume. The effects of ClC‑2 on the digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous and opt...

Objective(s): The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of chloride channel protein 2 (ClC-2) in glutamate-induced apoptosis in the retinal ganglion cell line (RGC-5). Materials and Methods: RGC-5 cells were treated with 1 mM glutamate for 24 hr. The expression of ClC-2, Bax, and Bcl-2 was detected by western blot analysis. Cell survival and apoptosis were measured by 3-(4,5-dimeth...

A highly efficient photonic band edge dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) laser is demonstrated. By sandwiching an active CLC cell within a resonator consisting of two passive CLC reflectors, the lasing efficiency is dramatically enhanced. Theoretical analysis using the improved 4x4 transfer matrix and scattering matrix shows that the band edge laser mode can be supported by the external...