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Single Cell and Subcellular Measurement of Intracellular Ca2+ Concentration ([Ca2+]i)

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Calcium Signaling Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 114))

Abstract

Measurement of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in populations of cells is an excellent tool to complement population measurements of other cell parameters, but the usefulness of this approach is limited by several problems, not the least of which is temporal averaging. In population studies, agonists often evoke a characteristic peak and plateau type of response irrespective of the stimulus intensity. However, equivalent experiments using single cells can often reveal exceedingly complex patterns, such as oscillations of the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]c) (1). By and large these patterns cannot be observed in population studies since cells oscillate out of phase and at different frequencies, resulting in a smooth population average. It is only when cells are electrically well coupled that synchronized, population oscillations can be recorded, but this case is more the exception than the rule.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Anthony J. Morgan

    Present address: Physiology Group, Biomedical Sciences Division, Vascular Biology Research Centre, King’s College London, Kensington, London, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

    Anthony J. Morgan & Andrew P. Thomas

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  1. Anthony J. Morgan
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  2. Andrew P. Thomas
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leicester, UK

    David G. Lambert

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© 1999 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Morgan, A.J., Thomas, A.P. (1999). Single Cell and Subcellular Measurement of Intracellular Ca2+ Concentration ([Ca2+]i). In: Lambert, D.G. (eds) Calcium Signaling Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 114. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-250-3:93

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-250-3:93

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-597-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-250-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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