Erratum: Forces Applied by Cilia Measured on Explants from Mucociliary Tissue.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1529/biophysj.106.

Efficient mucociliary transport relies on efficient regulation of ciliary beating.

The respiratory mucociliary epithelium is a synchronized and highly effective waste-disposal system. It uses mucus as a vehicle, driven by beating cilia, to transport unwanted particles, trapped in the mucus, away from the respiratory system. The ciliary machinery can function in at least two different modes: a low rate of beating that requires only ATP, and a high rate of beating regulated by second messengers.

Localized cytosolic alkalization and its functional impact in ciliary cells.

Using confocal microscopy we demonstrate that ciliary cells from airway epithelium maintain two qualitatively distinct cytosolic regions in terms of pH regulation. While the bulk of the cytosol is stringently buffered and is virtually insensitive to changes in extracellular pH (pHo), the values of cytosolic pH in the vicinity of the ciliary membrane is largely determined by pHo. Variation of pHo from 6.