Astrocytes are neural cells of ectodermal, neuroepithelial origin that provide for homeostasis
and defense of the central nervous system (CNS). Astrocytes are highly heterogeneous in …

Müller cells, the major type of glial cells in the retina, are responsible for the homeostatic and
metabolic support of retinal neurons. By mediating transcellular ion, water, and bicarbonate …

Over the past decades, hypomagnesemia (serum Mg2+< 0.7 mmol/L) has been strongly
associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients with hypomagnesemia show a …

Inwardly rectifying K+ (Kir) channels allow K+ to move more easily into rather than out of the
cell. They have diverse physiological functions depending on their type and their location …

Müller glial cells span the entire thickness of the tissue, and ensheath all retinal neurons, in
vertebrate retinae of all species. This morphological relationship is reflected by a multitude …

The brain is endowed with highly specialized vasculature that is both structurally and
functionally unique compared to vasculature supplying peripheral organs. The blood–brain …

Rapid changes in extracellular K+ concentration ([K+] o) in the mammalian CNS are
counteracted by simple passive diffusion as well as by cellular mechanisms of K+ clearance …

Kir4. 1 is an inwardly rectifying K+ channel expressed exclusively in glial cells in the central
nervous system. In glia, Kir4. 1 is implicated in several functions including extracellular K+ …

Postembedding immunogold labeling was used to examine the subcellular distribution of
the inwardly rectifying K+ channel Kir4. 1 in rat retinal Müller cells and to compare this with …

The inwardly rectifying potassium channel Kir4. 1 has been suggested to underlie the
principal K+ conductance of mammalian Müller cells and to participate in the generation of …