Development of a lung slice preparation for recording ion channel activity in alveolar epithelial type I cells

Development of a lung slice preparation for recording ion channel activity in alveolar epithelial type I cells

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Abstract Background Lung fluid balance in the healthy lung is Wall Chargers dependent upon finely regulated vectorial transport of ions across the alveolar epithelium.Classically, the cellular locus of the major ion transport processes has been widely accepted to be the alveolar type II cell.Although evidence is now emerging to suggest that the alveolar type I cell might significantly contribute to the overall ion and fluid homeostasis of the lung, direct assessment of functional ion channels in type I cells has remained elusive.

Methods Here we describe a development of a lung slice preparation that has allowed positive identification of alveolar type I cells within an intact and viable alveolar epithelium using living cell immunohistochemistry.Results This technique has allowed, for the first time, single ion channels of identified alveolar type I cells to be recorded using the Crop Tee cell-attached configuration of the patch-clamp technique.Conclusion This exciting new development should facilitate the ascription of function to alveolar type I cells and allow us to integrate this cell type into the general model of alveolar ion and fluid balance in health and disease.