Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Sep 15.
Published in final edited form as: Pulm Circ. 2011 Jan 1;1(1):48–71. doi: 10.4103/2045-8932.78103

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Passive membrane properties of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC). (a) The cell and pipette form a circuit in the whole-cell patch-clamp configuration. Membrane capacitance (Cm) and resistance (Rm) are indicators of cell size and transmembrane ion flux, respectively. (b) Cm is often used to indicate that the membrane is ruptured. In the cell-attached configuration (“Seal”), Cm, measured as the surface area under the transient spikes, is small. Upon whole-cell access (“Break-in”), Cm is greatly increased. (c and d) Frequency distribution of Cm and Rm within a cell population. (e and f) Cm (n=220) and Rm (n=171) of human PASMC do not vary over time in culture