The Role of Calcium in the Regulation of the Steady-State Levels of Sodium and Potassium in the HeLa Cell
Open Access
- 28 February 1967
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Rockefeller University Press in The Journal of general physiology
- Vol. 50 (4), 781-792
- https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.50.4.781
Abstract
Studies on HeLa cells in spinner culture at pH 7.0 and 37° have shown that [Na]i decreased and [K]i increased with increasing [Ca]o. In Na-free (choline) medium [K]i remained high whether or not Ca was present in the medium. [Na]i and [K]i approached a new steady state within 1 min after transfer to Ca-free medium and returned to the initial values within 15 min upon readdition of Ca. 40% of the cell Ca exchanged within 1 min followed by a slow exchange of the remaining Ca over several hours. [Ca]i increased with decreasing [Na]o but was independent of [K]o. Equimolar Mg did not substitute for Ca in maintaining low [Na]i and high [K]i. Under steady-state conditions about 50% of the cell Na exchanged in accordance with a single rate constant. The initial Na influx was 270, 100, and 2.5 µM/liter of cell water/sec for 0, 0.10, and 1.0 mM [Ca]o, respectively. When Na transport was inhibited with strophanthidin and [Na]i and [K]i allowed to reach a steady state, Na influx was more rapid for cells incubated in Ca-free medium than for cells incubated in medium containing 1.0 mM Ca. These results suggest that Ca competes with Na at the cell membrane and thus controls the passive diffusion of Na into the cell.This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Membrane permeability changes in amphibian eggs at ovulationJournal of Cellular Physiology, 1966
- The use of osmotic shock in the study of the mammalian HeLa cell surface changes during mitosis with special reference to calcium-containing solutionsExperimental Cell Research, 1965
- Effect of Calcium on Intracellular Sodium and Potassium Concentrations in Plant and Animal CellsNature, 1964
- Ca45 uptake by dog erythrocytes suspended in sodium and potassium chloride solutionsJournal of Cellular and Comparative Physiology, 1961
- Temperature studies implicating calcium in regulation of muscle membrane potentialJournal of Cellular and Comparative Physiology, 1960
- Potassium accumulation in guinea pig brain cortex slicesJournal of Neurochemistry, 1960
- SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF d‐GLUTAMATE ON THE GLUCOSE METABOLISM AND THE ACCUMULATION OF POTASSIUM IONS IN BRAIN CORTEX SLICESJournal of Neurochemistry, 1959
- Calcium and the Contraction of the Heart: Antagonism between Calcium and Sodium IonsNature, 1957
- Sodium transfer in tortoise erythrocytesThe Journal of Physiology, 1956
- THE ROLE OF CALCIUM IONS IN NEURAL PROCESSES1954