Effect of aniosmotic media on the volume of the T-lymphocyte nucleus

Frequency domain electrical conductivity measurements of the passive electrical properties of human lymphocytes

An extensive set of electrical conductivity measurements of human lymphocyte suspensions has been carried out in the frequency range from 1 kHz to 100 MHz, where the surface polarization due to the Maxwell-Wagner effect occurs. The data have been analyzed according to well-established heterogeneous system theories and the passive electrical parameters of both the cytoplasmic and nuclear membranes have been obtained. Moreover, a further analysis to take into account the roughness of the membrane surface on the basis of a fractal model yields new estimates for the membrane conductivity and the membrane permittivity, independently of the surface architecture of the cell. These findings are confirmed by measurements carried out at higher frequencies, in the range from 1 MHz to 1 GHz, on lymphocytes dispersed in both hyperosmotic and hypoosmotic media, that influence the surface complexity of the membrane due to the microvillous protrusions. The surface roughness of the cell is described by a macroscopic parameter (the fractal dimension) whose variations are associated to the progressive swelling of the cell, as the osmolality of the solution is changed.

19F NMR studies of changes in membrane potential and intracellular volume during dexamethasone-induced apoptosis in human leukemic cell lines

The induction of apoptosis in leukemic cells by dexamethasone is well known, but the mechanism of this type of cell death and of dexamethasone resistance by some variants is still poorly understood. Apoptotic cell death is preceded by many changes in cellular properties, such as glucose metabolism, cell size, cell density, and others. In this study, 19F-NMR has been used to characterize changes in cell membrane potential and intracellular accessible volume during dexamethasone induced apoptosis. One dex-sensitive (CEM-C7) and three dex-resistant variants (CEM-C1, CEM-ICR27, and CEM-4R4) were examined. We have observed separate intracellular and extracellular resonances for trifluoroacetate and trifluoroacetamide added to suspended leukemic cells. From the equilibrium distribution of these fluoro-compounds between intra and extracellular spaces, the changes in membrane potential and intracellular accessible volume were calculated. The membrane potential for CEM-C7 cells was found to significantly decrease in the presence of dexamethasone (9-mV decrease within 18 h of dexamethasone treatment), while that of CEM-ICR27 was found in some samples to increase on dexamethasone incubation. The membrane potential for CEM-C1 decreased slightly, while that of CEM-4R4 was not appreciably affected by dexamethasone. The reduction of membrane potential seems to be an early step in the mechanism of dexamethasone induced apoptosis. Although the intracellular volume varied with cell type and dexamethasone incubation (for CEM-C7), the fractional intracellular volume (alpha = Vin/Vcell) was found to be the same (0.82 +/- 0.06) for all the cell lines in the presence and absence of dexamethasone.