A major mechanism in cell volume regulation after hypoosmotic stress is K+ release. Our studies show that in astrocytes, K+ release during hypoosmotic stress is a Ca(2+)-dependent process. Agents that increase intracellular Ca2+, such as ionomycin and ouabain, potentiated hypoosmotically stimulated K+ release, while compounds that block Ca2+ entry during hypoosmotic stress, such as nimodipine, ...

Pathophysiological conditions challenge cell volume homeostasis and perturb cell volume regulatory mechanisms leading to alterations of cell metabolism, active transepithelial transport, cell migration, and death. We report that inhibition of the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) with AA861 or ETH 615-139, the cysteinyl leukotriene 1 receptor (CysLT₁) with the antiasthmatic drug Zafirlukast, or the volume-...

PURPOSE Osmotic swelling of Müller glial cells has been suggested to contribute to retinal edema. We determined the role of adenosine signaling in the inhibition of Müller cell swelling in the murine retina. METHODS The size of Müller cell somata was recorded before and during perfusion of retinal sections and isolated Müller cells with a hypoosmolar solution. Retinal tissues were freshly iso...

Subprotoplasts prepared from different regions of rhizoid and thallus cells of Fucus zygotes displayed mechanosensitive plasma membrane channels in cell-attached patch-clamp experiments by using laser microsurgery. In excised patches, this channel was found to be voltage gated, carrying K+ outward and Ca2+ inward, with a relative permeability of Ca2+/K+ of 0.35 to 0.5, and an increased open pro...

BACKGROUND Sperm membrane integrity is not only important as a barrier between intra- and extra-cellular spaces, but also it can be considered as a sign of DNA integrity. Hypoosmotic swelling test reflects membrane integrity and has been used to evaluate sperm quality. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in adjunct with hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) has been used for treatment of males ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of light-emitting diode (LED) on sperm motility in men with and without asthenospermia. MATERIAL AND METHODS Semen samples from 27 men were assessed and washed. An aliquot was taken from each sample as a control. The remaining amount was exposed to red LED for 2, 5 and 10 minutes. Sperm motility from the test and control tubes were re-checked at the end of eac...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the incidence of functional and chromatin alterations on spermatozoids in patients grouped according to normality of standard semen parameters based on the 5th edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. To identify and correlate the most frequently altered characteristics in the normal standard semen parameters sub-population. MATERIALS AND METHODS A pro...

Expression of aquaporins (AQP) and water permeability were studied in Xenopus laevis oocytes and immobilized glial cells by a pulsed-field gradient spin echo NMR technique and a photometric swelling assay. Oocytes injected with poly(A) RNA from C6-BU-1 cells showed increased swelling behavior under hypoosmotic stress due to expressed water channels as compared to control oocytes. The swelling c...