Mitochondrial swelling at acid pH

The effect of variations of pH on swelling of rat liver mitochondria was studied.It was found that mitochondria swell at acid pH (5.0–6.0) when they are incubated in isotonic solution of potassium chloride. The extent of swelling increased with decreasing tonicity of the medium. However, mitochondria did not swell at acid pH when they were incubated in isotonic sucrose. The inhibitory effect of sucrose was partially released by the addition of electrolytes to the medium.When unbuffered suspensions of mitochondria with different pH values were prepared by the addition of hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide to the incubation medium, it was observed that the extent of swelling increased both with acidity (6.0 to 5.0) and with alkalinity (7.0 to 8.0).Titration of the unbuffered mitochondrial suspensions showed a maximum buffering capacity in the ranges of pH values where maximum rate of swelling occurred.These results suggest that the mitochondrion behaves as a combination of osmometer and protein gel.

Further analysis of the reaction of Paramecium to cigarette paper ash solutions

The reaction of Paramecium caudatum to solutions containing the ash of cigarette paper was consistent with the response of Paramecium aurelia previously reported. After this confirmation, both these species of Paramecium were used as test organisms during a search for the causative agents for the "Paramecium reaction". A qualitative spectrochemical analysis of cigarette paper ash showed that its chief constituent is calcium (97%) with 12 other detected elements present at levels too low to elicit any response from paramecia. Hydroxyl ions in concentrations equivalent to 0.001 M Ca(OH)2, 0.0008 M KOH, or 0.002 M NaOH simulated but did not duplicate the effect of standard cigarette paper ash solution (as of one cigarette paper in 20 ml water). While neutralization caused the three hydroxide solutions to lose their toxicity, the toxicity of cigarette paper ash solution was not appreciably affected by neutralization. Equivalent solutions of facial tissue, filter paper, and a paper towel, burned the same way as cigarette paper, were used as controls. Each of them affected paramecia differently and none simulated the Paramecium reaction. Further, a comparison between ashes from a paperless cigarette, a whole cigarette, and one with two extra roll-your-own wrappers demonstrated a dependence of the Paramecium reaction on cigarette paper ash as well as a direct correlation between the reaction intensity and the amount of cigarette paper ash present.