Ion channels and membrane receptors in follicle-enclosed Xenopus oocytes.

Abstract

The follicle-enclosed Xenopus oocyte (follicle) is a well-studied system that has been utilized in investigations of cell division, ion channels, membrane receptors, second messenger systems, protein synthesis, cell-to-cell interactions and development, cellular polarity, fertilization, etc. (Masui and Markert, 1971; Gurdon et al., 1971; Kusano et al., 1977, 1982; Robinson, 1979; Kado et al., 1981; Miledi, 1982; Miledi and Parker, 1984; Parker and Miledi, 1986; Browne and Werner, 1984; Webb and Nuccitelli, 1985). Much of this knowledge helped to develop the oocyte as a system for expressing exogenous mRNA or cRNA and studying the transcribed proteins (Gurdon et al., 1971; Barnard et al., 1982; Miledi et al., 1982; Gundersen et al., 1983,1984; Colman, 1984a,b). Because of all the background knowledge accumulated, and because Xenopus oocytes offer many advantages, they are now commonly used in laboratories interested in diverse areas of the biomedicai sciences.