The osmotic swelling of intact erythrocytes in hypotonic solutions was measured using microhematocrit tubes, Van Allen tubes, and a calibrated Coulter counter. In agreement with earlier workers the intact cells did not behave as perfect osmometers, the cells swelling less than predicted by the Boyle-van't Hoff law. Erythrocyte ghosts were prepared from fresh intact erythrocytes by one-step hemolysis in 0.25% NaCl at an extremely dilute concentration of cells and the membranes were sealed at 37°. The ghosts were mixed with NaCl solutions of different osmolarities and the MCV (mean cell volume) of the shrunken cells immediately monitored by a calibrated Coulter counter. It was found that the MCV values of the shrunken ghosts were accurately predicted by the Boyle-van't Hoff law. These results indicate that these erythrocyte ghosts behaved as perfect osmometers.
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1 February 1970
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February 01 1970
The Erythrocyte Ghost Is a Perfect Osmometer
W. O. Kwant,
W. O. Kwant
From the Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto 5, Canada
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Philip Seeman
Philip Seeman
From the Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto 5, Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
W. O. Kwant
From the Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto 5, Canada
Philip Seeman
From the Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto 5, Canada
Received:
April 15 1969
Online ISSN: 1540-7748
Print ISSN: 0022-1295
Copyright © 1970 by The Rockefeller University Press
1970
J Gen Physiol (1970) 55 (2): 208–219.
Article history
Received:
April 15 1969
Citation
W. O. Kwant, Philip Seeman; The Erythrocyte Ghost Is a Perfect Osmometer . J Gen Physiol 1 February 1970; 55 (2): 208–219. doi: https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.55.2.208
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