Work

Control of Extracellular Potassium Levels by Retinal Glial Cell K + Siphoning

Year: 1984

Type: article

Abstract: Efflux of K+ from dissociated salamander Müller cells was measured with ion-selective microelectrodes. When the distal end of an isolated cell was exposed to high concentrations of extracellular K+, efflux occurred primarily from the endfoot, a cell process previously shown to contain most of the K+ conductance of the cell membrane. Computer simulations of K+ dynamics in the retina indicate that shunting ions through the Müller cell endfoot process is more effective in clearing local increases in extracellular K+ from the retina than is diffusion through extracellular space.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.6474173

Authors: Eric A. Newman, Donald A. Frambach, Louis L. Odette

Institution: Boston University

Language: English

Topic: Ion channel regulation and function

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Eye Institute

Award: Glial cell regulation of blood flow in the normal and diabetic retina