Figure 5

Determination of [Ca²⁺]_i levels in female normal rat cholangiocytes treated with 0.2% BSA or 100 nM prolactin. Prolactin induced a sustained increase in [Ca²⁺]_i levels compared with cholangiocytes treated with 0.2% BSA [top panel]. Data are mean ± SEM of 4 experiments. * p < 0.05 vs. the corresponding basal values. [lower panel] A calcium tracing, which is the average of three independent measurements, is shown in shown. As the tracing shows there is no change in fluorescence during the basal measurement period that demonstrates that the cells do not leak as influx of extracellular calcium would alter fluorescence. Cholangiocyte responsiveness to the Ca²⁺ ionophore, ionomycin, is shown.