THE EFFECT OF SWELLING ON THE RESPIRATION OF ERYTHROCYTES

Abstract

O2 consumption measurements made while a chicken erythrocyte swells show no increase over the control value. There is no change in the rate of anaerobic glycolysis in beef erythrocytes when they swell. The above statements are true whether the cells swell from a shrunken condition back to the normal vol., or swell from the normal to the hemolytic vol. These data add a further test of the hypothesis that a relationship exists between the cell membrane and its respiratory activity.