Osmotic and Respiratory Behavior of Surviving Rat Liver Cells. ∗

Summary

Nuclear and total cell volume changes have been studied as a function of extracellular osmotic gradients in respiring rat liver slices. The nucleus and intact cell respond approximately as osmometers in a manner suggesting that the intracellular water activity is the same in the nucleus and cytoplasm of the cell. A mean increase of 37.2% or a mean decrease of 22.3% of cell water volume did not significantly change the cell O₂ uptake when compared with cell O₂ uptake at isotonicity although the O₂ uptake was significantly increased in cells respiring in hypertonic solutions when compared with cells respiring in hypotonic solutions.