Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, Vol. 47, 1644a-1644, December 1999, Copyright © 1999, The Histochemical Society, Inc.


PROCEEDINGS

6 Calcium imaging in macula densa cells.

P. Darwin Bella and Janos Peti-Peterdia
a University of Alabama at Birmingham

Cytosolic calcium concentration [Ca] plays a vital role in cell signaling. With the use of fluorescent probes, such as fura 2, and fluorescence microscopy it is now routinely possible to accurately measure changes in [Ca]. However, complications and technical issues should be carefully considered in certain applications. Work in our laboratory has used single cell photometry, conventional image analysis, and confocal microscopy to measure [Ca] in renal cells. Most of our work has focused on macula densa cells which detect changes in distal tubular fluid sodium chloride concentration and transmit signals to the glomerular vasculature. In recent studies, we have found that increases in luminal [NaCl] from a normal low value of 25 mM to 150 mM result in increases in macula densa [Ca]. This increase in [Ca] occurs not through calcium mobilization but through calcium entry across the basolateral membrane. Increases in macula densa [Ca] can be blocked by nifedipine, a voltage operated calcium channel blocker. Thus, the use of fluorescence microsopy has allowed us to establish the existence of a macula densa [Ca] signaling pathway.





This Article
Full Text (PDF)
Alert me when this article is cited
Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Similar articles in this journal
Similar articles in PubMed
Alert me to new issues of the journal
Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Articles by Bell, P. D.
Articles by Peti-Peterdi, J.
Articles citing this Article
PubMed
PubMed Citation
Articles by Bell, P. D.
Articles by Peti-Peterdi, J.


Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]