Angiotensin II receptor antagonists have become clinically available for the treatment of arterial hypertension. Presently, there is little information about their effects on BP, proteinuria, and renal function in patients with moderate or advanced renal failure. This study examines the effects of the angiotensin II antagonist Valsartan (80 mg/d) on proteinuria and glomerular permselectivity in...

Unlike the overwhelming majority of nanopore sensors that are based on the measurement of a transpore ionic current, here we introduce a potentiometric sensing scheme and demonstrate its application for the selective detection of nucleic acids. The sensing concept uses the charge inversion that occurs in the sensing zone of a nanopore upon binding of negatively charged microRNA strands to posit...

The control of ionic permselectivity in porous films is an interesting aspect in the context of lab-on-chip devices and m-electronics. Especially, visible light triggered ionic permselectivity control is of relevance because control by light can be maintained externally without changing internal system parameters. In addition, light is a sustainable energy source if sunlight is used. Here, we p...

Developmental expression of ion channels possibly participating in regulatory volume decrease was studied in rat embryonic ( day E17) and perinatal ( days P1-6) ureteric bud and in postnatal ( P9-14) cortical collecting duct cells in primary monolayer culture. In isotonic bath solution, whole cell conductance (in nS/10 pF) was highest in E17 (4.0 ± 0.5, n = 31) compared with P1-6 (2.0 ± 0.1, n ...

Short-term infection of MDCK II monolayers with Salmonella typhimurium SL1344 caused a progressive decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance concomitant with decreased cation permselectivity and increased paracellular inulin flux. Cytochemical staining of F-actin, E-cadherin, and ZO-1 revealed the concentration of each junctional protein in invaded cells as a result of contraction at th...

Modification caused in cellophane matrix (a highly hydrophilic natural polymer) by -irradiation was studied by determining changes in different electrochemical parameters obtained from measurements carried out with the membranes in contact with NaCl and MgCl2 solutions. Three different irradiation doses (10 Gy, 30 Gy and 80 Gy) were used in order to consider its possible effect in membrane modi...