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Elsevier, Methods in Enzymology, p. 371-383, 1998

DOI: 10.1016/s0076-6879(98)93024-5

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[21] Combined whole-cell and single-channel current measurement with quantitative Ca2+ injection or Fura-2 measurement of Ca2

Book chapter published in 1998 by L. Donald Partridge, Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer ORCID, Dieter Swandulla
Distributing this paper is prohibited by the publisher
Distributing this paper is prohibited by the publisher

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Abstract

Intracellular free Ca2+ is an important second messenger in most cell types and cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, is tightly controlled by cytoplasmic buffering and regulation of influx and efflux pathways. In excitable cells, cytoplasmic Ca 2+ couples electrical events with a broad range of effector functions. Voltage-dependent calcium channels provide a direct means for this coupling, while postsynaptic ligand-gated channels provide additional regulated pathways for Ca2+ entry. Techniques for introducing Ca2+ into the cytoplasm are well established and several of these methods have been refined so that reasonably quantitative introductions of Ca2+ can be made. Recent years have seen rapid advances in techniques for measuring [Ca2+]i using fluorescent dyes, but older methods, utilizing aequorin, arsenazo, and ionsensitive microelectrodes, take these measurements back several decades. This chapter gives an example in which these three techniques are combined in an experiment in a single cell. The [Ca2+]i is changed in a quantitative manner as the result of controlled influx through voltage-gated calcium channels. The change in [Ca2+]i is measured using fluorescent imaging with the Ca2+-sensitive dye Fura-2 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR), and membrane (tail) currents are measured. The strength of combining these techniques is apparent in this experiment where it was possible lo control [Ca2+]i quantitatively and observe its effects on the activation of Ca2+- activated currents. Experiments combining measurements of membrane currents and [Ca2+]i with the controlled introduction of Ca2+ into the cytoplasm have provided important insight into cellular Ca2+ regulation and signaling. This chapter discusses various combinations of these techniques that allow measurement or control of [Ca2+]i and simultaneously allow the measurement of membrane currents. These combinations, while adding to the complexity of the experiment, thereby sometimes limiting the available preparations, are necessary in order to study control of [Ca2+]i and its role in such important neuronal processes as excitation-gating coupling.