Towards in vivo Bronchoscopic Functional CFTR Assessment using a Short Circuit Current Measurement Probe

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2024 Nov 27. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00137.2024. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

The epithelial lining of luminal organs provides an immune barrier against external factors and regulates transport of nutrients, ions, and water into the body. Several conditions are associated with a breakdown or dysfunction of the epithelial lining. Short circuit current (Isc) measurement using a bulky, expensive, and hard to deploy system known as the Ussing chamber is the gold standard for evaluation of epithelial transport function but requires tissue excision. We demonstrated the ability of the Isc probe to measure Isc in normal wild type (WT) versus reduced CFTR function knockout (KO) rats as a relevant animal model for testing ion channel function.

Keywords: Ag/AgCl electrode; CFTR; In situ; Short-circuit current; Ussing chamber.