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Electrical coupling between principal cells of the Malpighian tubules of Aedes aegypti: measurements of gap junction resistance

The present study was undertaken to examine Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito for the presence of gap junctions. Current was injected into one principal cell of the isolated Malpighian tubule and membrane voltage deflections were measured in 3 consecutive neighboring principal cells. By short‐circuiting the transepithelial voltage with the diuretic peptide leucokinin we largely eliminated electrical coupling of the cells through the tubule lumen, leaving electrical coupling of cells intact. The analysis of an equivalent electrical circuit of the tubule yielded 342 ± 75 kΩ as the gap junction resistance, and 486 ± 83 kΩ as the non‐junctional membrane resistance of a single epithelial cell. Next to circuit analysis, cable analysis yielded 392 ± 69 kΩ as the gap junction resistance, and 482 ± 58 kΩ as the non‐junctional membrane resistance. The good agreement between these two methods validates our measurement of the gap junction resistance in live, intact Malpighian tubules.