Expression cloning human and rat renal cortex Na/P cotransporters: behind the scenes in the Murer laboratory.

In the pre-genomic era, the cloning of a cDNA represented a significant achievement, particularly if the gene of interest encoded a membrane protein. At the time, molecular probes such as partial peptide sequences, suitable nucleic acid sequences, or antibodies were unavailable for most proteins and the "sodium-phosphate transporter" was no exception. In contrast, brush-border membrane vesicles and epithelial cell culture experiments had established a reliable set of functional hallmarks that described Na-dependent phosphate transport activity in some detail.

Functional expression of type 1 rat GABA transporter in microinjected Xenopus laevis oocytes.

In this chapter we describe technical aspects and experimental potential of the two electrodes voltage clamp (TEVC) electrophysiological approach applied to the Xenopus oocyte-expression system. This technique is addressed to the study of a particular class of expressed proteins, those responsible to drive ion fluxes through the plasma membrane. In fact the voltage-clamp technique provides the most direct and sensitive measurement of the functional properties of ion channels and electrogenic transporters, allowing specific ion currents to be recorded under well-defined voltage conditions and temporal control.

Glial and neuronal alterations in the nucleus tractus solitarii of sudden infant death syndrome victims.

The factors underlying the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are still unknown, but in recent years much attention has been focused on the central cardiorespiratory control system. In the present work we analyzed the nucleus tractus solitarii (nTS) of 23 SIDS victims and 17 age-matched control cases. We studied the functional and morphological alterations of neurons and glial cells to evaluate the results of possible hypoxic-ischemic injury that could have led to sudden death.