Amiloride-sensitive Na+ absorption is a well-described feature of numerous transporting epithelia in vertebrates. Yet, very little is known about this important physiological process regarding invertebrates. In the present paper, we compare vertebrate Na+ absorption mediated by the amiloride-sensitive epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) and its invertebrate counterpart. We used the dorsal skin of the...

BACKGROUND Leeches are commonly used in reconstructive surgery for the treatment of venous congestion in flaps. Documented mechanisms of action are (1) injection of the anticoagulant hirudin; (2) active suction of blood; and (3) passive oozing of the bite wound. Even though the benefits of leeches in venous congestion are widely accepted, little is known about their effects in mixed arterio-ven...

Leech neurons in culture sprout rapidly when attached to extracts from connective tissue surrounding the nervous system. Laminin-like molecules that promote sprouting have now been isolated from this extracellular matrix. Two mAbs have been prepared that react on immunoblots with a approximately equal to 220- and a approximately equal to 340-kD polypeptide, respectively. These antibodies have b...

In contrast to mammals, the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis can completely repair its central nervous system (CNS) after injury. This invertebrate model offers unique opportunities to study the molecular and cellular basis of the CNS repair processes. When the leech CNS is injured, microglial cells migrate and accumulate at the site of lesion, a phenomenon known to be essential for the usual...

Anne B Chang ([email protected]) Nancy C Cox ([email protected]) Joan Faoagali ([email protected]) Geoffrey J Cleghorn ([email protected]) Christopher Beem ([email protected]) Looi C Ee ([email protected]) Geoffrey D Withers ([email protected]) Mark K Patrick ([email protected]) Peter J Lewindon (p.lewindon@mail...

Sparse signals for the control of human movements using the infinity norm Geoffrey George Gamble, Mehrdad Yazdani 1 Geoffrey George Gamble ∗, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America 2 Mehrdad Yazdani, Qualcomm Institute, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America