Ion Exchange in Normal and Leukemic Human Lymphocytes: Description by the Association-Induction Hypothesis and Experimental Testing of its Predictions

Abstract

Abstract : The long-range goal of this project is to define the physiological factors that control cell division in both normal and malignant cells. There are three sorts of studies that might be done in cells, in order to define and specify the nature of ion distribution and exchange. They are: (1) the equilibrium (or steady-state) contents of ions; (2) the exchange of one ion for another under the most extreme non-equilibrium conditions; and (3) the exchange of a labeled ion for its unlabeled counterpart under conditions in which the total ion contents are in equilibrium (or steady-state) with regard to the (stable) external ion content. The first two sets of experiments have been completed by the author and papers were submitted to the Journal of Cell Biology for review. The present report covers three major activities: (1) Discussion of some additional data and of the exchange with the Journal of Cell Biology over the two papers submitted; (2) Results of experiments done over the past six months having to do with equilibrium ion transport; and (3) Experiments recently done to clarify the question of ion content changes in mitogenically-transformed lymphocytes.