Figure 5. Intercellular dye transfer through GJCs is maintained during SKCa/IKCa activation with NS309.
Propidium iodide dye (0.1% in 2M KCl) was included in microelectrode during intracellular recording to evaluate intercellular coupling through gap junction channels. Arrows indicate impaled cell in each panel and recordings lasted 30 min. A, Dye transfer during Control conditions. B, As in A with NS309 (10 μmol/L) introduced 5 min prior to cell penetration. With 500 μm separation between microelectrodes, cells hyperpolarized to −81 ± 1 mV and electrical conduction was abolished (Figs. 4A–4C) yet robust dye transfer to surrounding cells was maintained. Images are representative of n=3 experiments.