Relation of mitochondria-rich chloride cells to active chloride transport in the skin of a marine teleost.

Mitochondria-rich cells in the skin of the marine teleost, Gillichthys mirabilis, were found to be ultrastructurally similar to typical chloride-secreting cells of marine fish gill, but had a tall, spindlelike shape due to the thickness of the stratified epithelium. The fluorophore, dimethylaminostyrylethyl-pyridiniumiodide (DASPEI), was used to visualize and count skin chloride cells so that cell density could be regressed against the in vitro short-circuit current (ISC) measured on the same tissue. The regression (r2 = 0.76; n = 72) demonstrated that chloride cells are responsible for anion transport across Grillichthys skin.