Analysis of Ion Channels in Pulmonary Epithelia

The transport process of ion channels in pulmonary epithelial cells is essential for normal lung function. Creative Bioarray is committed to providing clients with analysis and characterization services of ion channels in the lung, providing valuable information for studying the ion transport properties of airway epithelium and alveolar epithelium.

Background

The lung surface of vertebrates is formed by a continuous epithelium covered by a fluid layer. Epithelial cells on the alveolar surface include type I alveolar cells and type II alveolar cells. One of the most important functions of the epithelial barrier is to regulate and maintain the volume and viscosity of the fluid layer covering the epithelium, which relies on a diverse array of ion transporters in epithelial cells.

To date, a large number of ion channels have been detected in lung epithelial cells, such as Na⁺, Cl^- and K⁺ channels, acid-sensitive ion channels 2 (ASIC2), cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGs), and various voltage-gated chloride channels (CLC5 and CLC2). Among them, Na⁺, Cl^- and K⁺ channels have been reported to be involved in the regulation of the fluid layer. Dysfunction of these ion channels often leads to impairment of pulmonary fluid balance and severe diseases, such as pulmonary oedema and cystic fibrosis, confirming the important role of pulmonary epithelial ion channels in maintaining normal lung function.

Fig. 1 Ion transport proteins identified in alveolar type I and alveolar type II cell. (Hollenhorst, 2011)

Our Services

The airway and alveolar epithelium are composed of different cell types with different ion transporting proteins, which complicates the study of ion channels in the lung. Our research team utilizes a variety of techniques such as immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging, and electrophysiological recording to provide clients with analysis services for ion channels in the pulmonary epithelium. Our services include but not limited to:

• Identification and detection of multiple ion channels and their isoforms in pulmonary epithelial cells.
• Analysis of the number of transmembrane domains, activation mechanisms, and conductance properties of ion channels in pulmonary epithelial cells.
• Analysis of ion channel gene expression in tissues of healthy and diseased individuals, such as individuals with lung adenocarcinoma.
• Distribution analysis of ion channels in the airway epithelium and alveolar epithelium.
• Development of lung slice preparations and recording of ion channel activity in alveolar epithelial cells.
• Analysis of cytokine-ion channel interactions in the lung.

Applications

Our ion channel analysis service can be applied to research in many fields, such as:

• Study on the role of ion channels in the pathogenesis of lung-related disease
• Development of models for studying alveolar and airway epithelial ion transport
• Development of diagnostic methods for lung adenocarcinoma

Creative Bioarray is a leading service provider in the field of ion channel analysis. Our experienced research team has the strength to provide clients with detailed analysis services of ion channels in the alveolar epithelium and airway epithelium. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Hollenhorst, M. I.; et al. Ion transport by pulmonary epithelia. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2011.