Salinity limits plant growth and impairs agricultural productivity. There is a wide spectrum of plant responses to salinity that are defined by a range of adaptations at the cellular and the whole-plant levels, however, the mechanisms of sodium transport appear to be fundamentally similar. At the cellular level, sodium ions gain entry via several plasma membrane channels. As cytoplasmic sodium ...

Sodium channel inhibitor (SCI) insecticides selectively target voltage-gated sodium (Na(v)) channels in the slow-inactivated state by binding at or near the local anesthetic receptor within the sodium channel pore. Metaflumizone is a new insecticide for the treatment of fleas on domesticated pets and has recently been reported to block insect sodium channels in the slow-inactivated state, there...

We investigate the potential of multiple quantum filtered (MQF) (23)Na NMR to probe intracellular [Na]i in the Langendorff perfused mouse heart. In the presence of Tm(DOTP) shift reagent the triple quantum filtered (TQF) signal originated largely from the intracellular sodium pool with a 32±6% contribution of the total TQF signal arising from extracellular sodium, whilst the rank 2 double-quant...

The maintenance of sodium (Na+) homeostasis is an essential function of the kidney. It is achieved by a variety of transport processes localized all along the highly specialised segments of the nephron. Impairment of these transport mechanisms, and thereby Na+ handling, is associated with disturbed Na+ and water balance, leading to hypertension and oedema. This review focuses on the novel regul...

The high temperature oxidation behaviour of Nimonic-115 industrial alloy has been investigated in presence of  NaNO3, Na2CO3 and Na2O2 at 850oC in flowing air. The oxidation kinetics and effect of salt deposition for the period of 48 h were studied. The scale morphologies were determined on the basis of X-ray diffraction anal...

Several distinct components of voltage-gated sodium current have been recorded from native dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons that display differences in gating and pharmacology. This study compares the electrophysiological properties of two peripheral nerve sodium channels that are expressed selectively in DRG neurons (Na(v)1.7 and Na(v)1.8). Recombinant Na(v)1.7 and Na(v)1.8 sodium channels w...

The mechanism of unidirectional transport of sodium from blood to brain in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats was examined using in situ perfusion. Sodium transport followed Michaelis-Menten saturation kinetics with a Vmax of 50.1 nmol/g/min and a Km of 17.7 mM in the left frontal cortex. The kinetic analysis indicated that, at a physiologic sodium concentration, approximately 26% of sodium transp...

OBJECTIVE This study examined the effects of low dialysate sodium on endothelial dysfunction (ED) as measured by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of brachial artery in haemodialysis (HD) patients. METHODS Thirty HD patients (17 men; mean age: 48.4 ± 17.8 years) were studied. Subjects underwent two consecutive 6-week HD periods. Dialysate sodium was 143 mEq/L in the first period (standard Na HD)...

Voltage-gated sodium channels cluster at sites of action potential generation and propagation by interacting with partner proteins such as neurofascin, an adhesion molecule in the L1 family, and ankyrin-G, a spectrin-binding protein required for sodium channel accumulation at axon initial segments. Here, we describe in the inner plexiform layer of the retina a novel site of high-density sodium ...

The ability to maintain body fluids hypotonic to the environment is a characteristic of marine teleosts. Homer Smith (1930) showed that to replace body water lost along the osmotic gradient the teleost swallows the external medium continuously, absorbing ions and water from the gut. To abolish the salt load incurred by drinking sea water the fish excretes Na and Cl through the gills. By using r...