National Institutes of Health

Oxford University

Fig. 2. Effect of cell orientation on geometry of microstreams.

Figure 11. Models of intrinsic H+i mobility

Physiology Department

The Wellcome Trust

British Heart Foundation

 

PROTON  TRANSPORT  GROUP
Intracellular pH regulation in heart

 

Group Leader Prof.
Richard Vaughan-Jones

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RESEARCH INTERESTS

Regulation of Intracellular pH in heart

Fig. 1. Imaging intracellular pH (pHi) in a ventricular myocyte. A: light-transmission image of an isolated rat ventricular myocyte. Cell width, 28 µm; cell length, 95 µm. The tip of a glass micropipette filled with isotonic KCl of pH 3.0 is visible, located toward the left end of the cell.

 

 

Techniques

Our research is predominantly cellular and molecular. We use a variety of experimental approaches (i) intracellular confocal imaging of pHi  and Ca2+i in isolated cardiomyocytes, (ii) single-cell epifluorescence for pH, Ca2+ and Na+ (iii) patch-clamp/voltage-clamp for probing sarcolemmal electrical events (iv) optical measurement of cellular contraction, (v) site directed mutagenesis and oocyte expression of acid/base membrane transport proteins and (vi) mathematical and computational modelling. Our aim is to understand pHi regulation at the molecular, cellular and eventually the whole heart level.

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Longitudinal diffusion delay is reduced in CO2/HCO3- buffer

 

Figure 5. Dual acid efflux

Effect of cariporide (30µM) and amiloride (1mM) on ICa in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.

Effect of Acetate (80mM) in the absence and prsence of Cariporide (30uM)

 

 

To read more about our research please click on the titles below:

 

Importance of pHi

Techniques

 The ion transporters involved

Local intracellular control of pHi

 

Local junctional control of pHi

Molecular basis of pH sensing by acid/base transporters

Influence of pHi on Ca2+i