Gender differences in academia

Editor--Galley and Colvin note the gender differences that still exist in some areas of the anaesthesia community. We agree that women lag behind their men colleagues in other specific areas of academic anaesthesia

Calcium dependency of RVD in ZR-75-1 cells

RVD in ZR-75-1 cells, epithelial-derived human breast cancer cells, is HCO3- dependent and involves the parallel activation of the K+ and volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC; Nicholl et al. 2001). Preliminary data indicated that the mechanisms of RVD were calcium (Ca2+) dependent, although the exact nature is unknown. This study investigated the Ca2+ dependency of RVD in ZR-75-1 cells using the video imaging techniqu

Expression of L-type (α1D subunit) and T-type (α1G and α1H subunit) Ca2+ channels in epithelial-derived human breast cancer cells (ZR-75-1)

Using the video imaging technique this group has previously reported that regulatory volume decrease (RVD) in ZR-75-1 cells is Ca2+ dependent. RVD was inhibited in the absence of external Ca2+ and in the presence of voltage-gated Ca2+ channel inhibitors, nifedipine (L-type) and flunarizine (T-type; Ashes et al. 2002). These results suggested that external Ca2+ entered the cell via voltage-gated L- and/or T-type Ca2+ channels. In this study, the expression of L- and T-type channels was investigated in ZR-75-1 cells using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The α1C and α1D are subunits of the L-type Ca2+ channel. The α1C subunit is expressed in cardiac muscle and the α1D subunit in the CNS and endocrine cells, where it may have a role in stimulus-secretion coupling. The α1G, α1H and α1I subunits have been cloned and display biophysical and pharmacological properties of native T-type Ca2+ channels when overexpressed in Xenopus oocytes or HEK-293 cells (Randall & Benham 1999)