Indeed, it would be very interesting if it could be tested!Fiver wrote:Thanks. very interesting! I think this is what I am learning:
Looks like several things might be going on. Cell shrink and swell, which would involve the aquaporins to let water in and out of cells. Then there is some sort of space, tubes or openings. And these become more open or more constricted depending on how the cells lining the spaces swell (or not). Then the pulsing or changes in pressure gradients would help fluid move through the tubes or openings.
There seems to be potential here to improve the process right? by chemical means, by modifying cell water relations, and by pulses of gentle pressure changes.
This really is interesting. I've seen a few attempts to measure clearance. I wonder if a researcher somewhere has a system for monitoring this, so that different approaches could be tested.
Maybe we don't need to know/monitor precisely the clearance rate, but just to examine mice brains when they die, for two different groups, one with constant water access and the other with intermittent access.
