Recent work demonstrated that human macrophage NaV1.5, an intracellular voltage-gated sodium channel expressed on late endosomes, enhances Nepicastat clinical trial endosomal acidification and phagocytosis. Here, using bacillus Camille-Guerin (BCG) as a model of mycobacterial infection, we examined how this channel regulates phagocytosis and phagosome maturation in human macrophages. Knockdown of NaV1.5 reduced high capacity uptake of labeled BCG. BCG-containing, NaV1.5-expressing cells demonstrated localization of NaV1.5 and Rab-7 positive endosomes and mitochondria to periphagosome regions that

was not observed in NaV1.5-deficient cells. Knockdown of the channel reduced the initial calcium response following bacterial challenge and prevented the generation of prolonged and localized calcium oscillations during phagosome Dactolisib mw maturation. Inhibition of the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger also prevented prolonged calcium oscillations during

phagosome maturation. These results suggest that NaV1.5 and mitochondrial-dependent calcium signaling regulate mycobacteria phagocytosis and phagosome maturation in human macrophages through spatial-temporal coordination of calcium signaling within a unique subcellular region.”
“The optoelectronic properties of GaN-based multiple quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated using a detailed theoretical model, in which the effects of strain, well coupling, valence band mixing, and polarization effects are fully considered. By solving the conduction and valence band effective mass equations together with Poisson’s equation self-consistently, the influence of various major design parameters, such as the well width, the barrier components, and the barrier thickness, on the electronic and optical properties of GaN-based MQW LEDs is AG-014699 price studied. Numerical results show that the emission spectra of the LEDs are very sensitive to the above design parameters due to the polarization effect that is unique for GaN-based

devices. Further analysis and simulations reveal that this sensitivity can be obviously suppressed by choosing InGaN as the barrier material. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3580510]“
“The t-tubules of mammalian ventricular myocytes are invaginations of the cell membrane that occur at each Z-line. These invaginations branch within the cell to form a complex network that allows rapid propagation of the electrical signal, and hence synchronous rise of intracellular calcium (Ca2+). To investigate how the t-tubule microanatomy and the distribution of membrane Ca2+ flux affect cardiac excitation-contraction coupling we developed a 3-D continuum model of Ca2+ signaling, buffering and diffusion in rat ventricular myocytes. The transverse-axial t-tubule geometry was derived from light microscopy structural data.