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Epithelial Physiology > L1 - Introduction > Flashcards

L1 - Introduction Flashcards

1
Q

What is the importance of epithelial cells being polarised?

A

Can get net transport
- Transcellular
- Paracellular
Different transport proteins on apical and basolateral membranes

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2
Q

What is transcellular transport?

A

Move across apical and basolateral membrane

Move across cell

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3
Q

What is paracellular transport?

A

Move between cells

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4
Q

What are the two different structures of epithelia?

A

Sheet

Tubular - upper airway

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5
Q

What is the main difference between tight and leaky epithelia?

A

Transepithelial resistance

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6
Q

Where are leaky epithelia found?

A

Proximal tubule
Gallbladder
Small intestine
Choroid plexus

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7
Q

Where are tight epithelia found?

A

Distal tubule
Stomach
Frog skin

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8
Q

What is the transepithelial resistance of leaky and tight epithelia?

A

Leaky - <200 ohms/cm2

Tight - >2000 ohms/cm2

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9
Q

What is the transepithelial potential of leaky and tight epithelia?

A

Leaky - 0mV

Tight - 50mV

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10
Q

What is the flux of leaky and tight epithelia?

A

Leaky - large - isomotic

Tight - small

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11
Q

What is transepithelial resistance?

A

Resistance across the epithelium to movement

High transepithelial resistance = not a lot of net transport across the epithelium

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12
Q

What is transepithelial resistance determined by?

A

Paracelluar permeability

Transcellular net transport is very similar between all epithelia
- What makes them tight or leaky is there paracellular transport

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13
Q

What is the flux of epithelia?

A

Amount of transport
Tight - small as only transcellular transport
Leaky - large due to transcellular and paracellular transport
– Ions are followed by water - isosmotic

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14
Q

What is the transepithelial potential?

A

Net transport of ions and charge generates a potential that exists across the epithelium
Sum of the individual (apical and basolateral) membrane potentials
Measured using electrode on either side of the epithelium

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15
Q

Why is the transepithelial potential of leaky epithelia low?

A

Low value/0

Can’t sustain potentials as some ions leak back so you get lots of paracellular transport

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16
Q

How is transepithelial potential generated in the principal cells of the collecting duct?

A

Na/K ATPase and basolateral K channel
- Set up electrochemical driving force for Na uptake across apical membrane
- Set up negative membrane potential
ENac
- Na uptake into intracellular fluid across apical membrane
- Na then pumped by Na/K ATPase across basolateral membrane
Net movement of positive charge from apical to basolateral membrane
- Leaves behind a negative charge  negative Vte

17
Q

How is transepithelial potential generated in the thick ascending limb?

A

Na/K ATPase and basolateral K channel
- Set up electrochemical driving force for Na uptake across apical membrane
- Set up negative membrane potential
- Drives NKCC2
NKCC2 and apical K channel
- NKCC2 electroneutral transport protein  no net movement of charge
- Na and Cl and reabsorbed
- K is recycled through apical K channel
Net movement of 1 positive charge from apical to basolateral membrane
- Net loss of negative charge from apical solution
- Leaves behind a positive charge - positive Vte

18
Q

What are the four methods to look at electrophysiology?

A

Intracellular microelectrode
Patch clamp
Two electrode voltage clamp
Ussing chamber

19
Q

What can intracellular micro electrode measure?

A

IC potential

20
Q

What can the patch clamp technique measure?

A

Vhannel/whole cell current/Po of channel

Tends to be used for smaller cells

21
Q

What can the two electrode voltage clamp technique be used for?

A

Whole cell current

22
Q

What can the Ussing chamber technique be used for?

A

Vte, Rte and Isc

23
Q

What does the Ussing chamber technique look at?

A

How a whole epithelium behaves - looking at all the cells that makes up the epithelium

24
Q

How does the Ussing chamber calculate the short circuit current?

A

Use potential and resistance values we record to calculate short circuit current

  • Can’t measure direct net current flow across an epithelium
  • Isc – indirect measurement of net ion flux across membrane
  • Equivalent short circuit current
25
Q

What does transepithlial potential allow us to identify?

A

If epithelium is tight or leaky

Can also identify is tissues are viable

26
Q

How can we use pharmacology to look at Na ion channels?

A

Use specific ion channel blockers to see if membrane potential changes
- Get a negative or positive shift in membrane potential
E.g. Amiloride block Na channels
- Membrane potential moves away from Nernst of Na

27
Q

How can we use pharmacology to look at K ion channels?

A

Used Ba - K channel blocker

Currents go down –> K channels mediate K current

28
Q

How can you tell which is the dominant open ion in a membrane?

A

Look at dominant ion channels open by comparing Nernst values with membrane potential
Vrev is closer to the Nernst of the dominant ion channel

29
Q

Ussing chamber method

A

Between two blocks of Perspex you clamp the epithelium you are interested in
- Can grow culutres cells on an insert
Epithelium then perfused with Krebs or ringer solution
Bicarbonate as a buffer so pH remains at a constant

30
Q

What are the 4 electrodes in an Ussing chamber?

A

1st set
- Measure transepithelium potential
- 1 is reference, 1 is to record
2nd set
- Inject a known current (connected to a current injection box)
- The resulting shift in Vte is measured
- This shift is dependent on the Rte of the epithelium

31
Q

How do you calculate Isc from an Ussing chamber experiment?

A
  1. Every minute you inject 10 mA of current
  2. Shift in Vte when you inject 10 uA is shown by the red bar
  3. Calculate Rte
    = ΔV / I injected
  4. Calculate Isc
    = Vte / Rte
32
Q

What is the drug Lub?

A

Exposed epithelia cells to Lub – a prostaglandin activator
Lub –> cAMP –> PKA –> CFTR Cl channels

Increase in Vte due to stimulated secretion of Cl ion
When CFTR inhibiter added this increase in Vte is reversed

33
Q

How did they validate the Ussing chamber technique?

A

Used Ussing chamber to record

  • Isc
  • Na24 influx - apical to basolateral
  • Na24 outflux - basolateral to apical

They knew 10.4pmol/s = 1µA
- Able to work out how much current the Na would generate

Used radioactive studies to validate that in frog skin Na is the main actively transported ion through ENaC
Worked out the total current –> similar to short circuit current measured in Ussing chamber

34
Q

How is Na and Cl handled in the upper airway?

A

Na/K ATPase and K channel on basolateral membrane

  • Set driving force for Na influx through basolateral and apical membrane through NKCC1 and ENac
  • Na is recycled across basolateral membrane
  • K is recycled across basolateral membrane
  • Cl accumulates in cell - above electrochemical equilibrium

If we open Cl channel in apical membrane –> Cl leave through CFTR Cl channel
- Net secretion of Cl

35
Q

What has to be carefully controlled in the upper airway?

A

Balance between Cl secretion and Na absorption (through ENaC)

  • Sets the peri cilia layer that cilia project into
  • First line of defence against infection
36
Q

A researcher is interested in the Po of an ion channel. What techniques would they use to measure this?

A

Single channel patch clamp

37
Q

In an Ussing chamber experiment you record a Vte of 6.5mV. On injection of 10uA a current of Vte changes to 21.9mV. Using these data work out the equivalent Isc in uA.

A 
Work out the shift in Vte 	
o	21.9 – 6.5 = 15.4mV 
Work out Rte 
o	15.4mV / 10uA = 1540 ohms
Use the Rte to work out Isc
o	6.5mV / 1540 = 4.22uA

Epithelial Physiology (10 decks)

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