Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Jun;284(6):C1460-7.
doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00603.2002. Epub 2003 Feb 26.

Contribution of chloride channels to volume regulation of cortical astrocytes

Kimberly A Parkerson  1 , Harald Sontheimer
Affiliations
Free article

Contribution of chloride channels to volume regulation of cortical astrocytes

Kimberly A Parkerson et al. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2003 Jun.
Free article

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the relative contribution of Cl(-) channels to volume regulation of cultured rat cortical astrocytes after hypotonic cell swelling. Using a Coulter counter, we showed that cortical astrocytes regulate their cell volume by approximately 60% within 45 min after hypotonic challenge. This volume regulation was supported when Cl(-) was replaced with Br(-), NO(3)(-), methanesulfonate(-), or acetate(-) but was inhibited when Cl(-) was replaced with isethionate(-) or gluconate(-). Additionally, substitution of Cl(-) with I(-) completely blocked volume regulation. Volume regulation was unaffected by furosemide or bumetanide, blockers of KCl transport, but was inhibited by Cl(-) channel blockers, including 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB), 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS), and niflumic acid. Surprisingly, the combination of Cd(2+) with NPPB, DIDS, or niflumic acid inhibited regulation to a greater extent than any of these drugs alone. Volume regulation did not differ among astrocytes cultured from different brain regions, as cerebellar and hippocampal astrocytes exhibited behavior identical to that of cortical astrocytes. These data suggest that Cl(-) flux through ion channels rather than transporters is essential for volume regulation of cultured astrocytes in response to hypotonic challenge.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources