Whole-cell voltage clamp on skeletal muscle fibers with the silicone-clamp technique.
Control of membrane voltage and membrane current measurements are of strong interest for the study of numerous aspects of skeletal muscle physiology and pathophysiology. The silicone-clamp technique makes use of a conventional patch-clamp apparatus to achieve whole-cell voltage clamp of a restricted portion of a fully differentiated adult skeletal muscle fiber. The major part of an isolated muscle fiber is insulated from the extracellular medium with silicone grease, and the tip of a single microelectrode connected to the amplifier is then inserted within the fiber through the silicone layer. This method represents an alternative to the traditional vaseline-gap isolation and two or three microelectrode voltage-clamp techniques. This chapter reviews the main benefits of the silicone-clamp technique and provides detailed insights into its practical implementation.
Pouvreau
Sandrine
S
Physiologie Intégrative Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France.
Collet
Claude
C
Allard
Bruno
B
Jacquemond
Vincent
V
D000818:Animals; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D012828:Silicones
D012828:Silicones