Correlation between osmoregulation and cell volume regulation

Abstract

The euryhaline crab, Callinectes sapidus, behaves both as an osmoregulator when equilibrated in salines in the range of 800 mosM and below and an osmoconformer when equilibrated in salines above 800 mosM. There exists a close correlation between osmoregulation seen in the whole animal in vivo and cell volume regulation studied in vitro. Hyperregulation of the hemolymph osmotic pressure and cell volume regulation both occurred in salines at approximately 800 mosM and below. During long-term equilibration of the crabs to a wide range of saline environments, the total concentration of hemolymph amino acids plus taurine remained below 3 mM. During the first 6 h after an acute osmotic stress to the whole animal, the hemolymph osmotic pressure and Na activity gradually decreased, whereas the free amino acids remained below 3 mM. As the hemolymph osmotic pressure decreased below approximately 850 mosM, the amino acid level began to increase to 17-25 mM. This change was primarily due to increases in glycine, proline, taurine, and alanine. The likely source of the increase in hemolymph free amino acids in vivo is the free amino acid loss from muscle cells observed during cell volume regulation in vitro.