The distribution of water and of sodium and potassium between the cell and synthetic environments has been studied in rat diaphragm muscle. It has been found that: (1) the amount of intracellular water is markedly increased at 0 °C. in oxygen and at 37 °C. in nitrogen compared to that of tissue at 37 °C. in oxygen, in media up to 0.75 osmolar; (2) optimal conditions of temperature and oxygen are necessary to prevent or reduce the uptake of water; (3) swelling at reduced temperatures and under hypoxic conditions is related to the oxygen uptake; (4) the loss of tissue solids during incubation does not have any significant effect on the calculation of the total tissue and intracellular water; (5) the concentration of total sodium and potassium in the tissue, in vivo and in vitro at optimal conditions is slightly in excess of that in the plasma water or incubating medium—this is believed not to represent an active hypertonicity; (6) concomitant with the uptake of water there are marked redistributions of sodium and potassium, the gain of sodium being greater than the loss of potassium. It is concluded that the swelling of tissue cells under conditions that inhibit oxidative metabolism is primarily due to the redistribution of electrolytes and that the natural distribution of water in muscle is determined by active maintenance of the concentration gradients of sodium and potassium across the cell membrane.
Action of Insulin on Transport of l-Alanine into Rat Diaphragm in Vitro
