On the composition of the cytosol of relaxed skeletal muscle of the frog

Abstract

This review summarizes a variety of estimates for the concentrations of the principal cytosolic constituents in frog skeletal muscle. From these estimates (listed in the APPENDIX), we chose representative values and used electroneutrality and osmotic considerations to ensure that all major constituents have been considered. Given total cytosolic concentrations of these constituents from the literature, we employed a computer program to calculate the concentrations of all the major ionic species in the cytosol. In relaxed muscle, electroneutrality and osmotic constraints are fulfilled if, in addition to diffusible species, the charge contribution of the myofilaments is considered. Mean buffer power of the diffusible cytosolic species is calculated to be less than one-third of that experimentally determined for whole muscle. Computations indicate that recent estimates of intracellular free magnesium concentration approximately 1 mM are likely to be correct.