J. C. Ellory

The major pathway of passive K influx (ouabain-insensitive) was characterized in low-K type (LK) red cells of sheep. 1. Passive K transport in these cells was highly sensitive to variations in cell volume; it increased threefold or more in cells swollen osmotically by 10%, and decreased up to twofold in cells shrunken 5-10%. Active K influx was insensitive to changes in cell volume. Three different methods for varying cell volume osmotically all gave similar results. 2. The volume-sensitive pathway was specific for K in that Na influx did not vary with changes in cell volume. 3. The volume-sensitive K influx was a saturable function of external K concentration. It was slightly inhibited by Na, whereas K influx in shrunken cells was unaffected by Na. 4. Passive K influx was dependent on the major anion in the medium in that replacement of Cl with any of six other anions resulted in a reduction of K influx by 50-80% (replacement of Cl by Br caused an increase in K influx). The activation of K influx by Cl followed sigmoid kinetics. 5. Passive K influx is inhibited by anti-L antibody. The antibody affected only that portion of influx which was Cl-dependent and volume-sensitve. Of the subfractions of the antibody, it is anti-L1 which inhibits passive K transport. 6. Pretreatment of cells with iodoacetamide reduced the sensitivity of K influx to cell volume in that the influx was reduced in swollen IAA-treated cells and increased in shrunken IAA-cells. 7. Intracellular Ca has no role in altering passive K transport in LK sheep cells. Therefore, the major pathway of passive K transport in LK sheep red cells is sensitive to changes in cell volume, specific for K, dependent on Cl, and inhibited by anti-L1 antibody, The minor pathway, observed in shrunken cells, has none of these properties.

Passive K+ transport in human erythrocytes (defined as ouabain-insensitive transport) was inhibited 70% by replacement of Cl- by several permeant monovalent anions. The Vmax of Cl--dependent K+ influx was 1.14 mmol . liter-1, hr-1; its apparent Km for K+ was 4.7 mM. There was a much smaller component of Na+ influx dependent on Cl- (Vmax, 0.23 mmol . liter-1 . hr-1). Furosemide and other inhibitors of Cl- transport inhibited passive K+ transport to the same extent as replacement of Cl-, but 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, a specific inhibitor of anion exchange in erythrocytes, was ineffective. The Cl--dependent K+ transport, which may be K+/Cl- cotransport, could reflect a mechanism for regulating cell volume.