The permeability of erythrocytes to deuterium oxide (heavy water)

✍ Scribed by Brooks, S. C.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1935
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 485 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0095-9898
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1030070203

✦ Synopsis

ONE FIGURE

The isolation of deuterium oxide (heavy water) in relatively pure form immediately suggested studies of its biological effects. Since the first report of such a study (Lewis, '33) many papers dealing with this field have been published, and these have been reviewed more or less completely by Barnes and Jahn ( '34), Fox ( '34) and Lewis ( '34). These reviews show that much of this work dealt with effects upon secondary and superficial biological phenomena. Until after the present study was begun there had been no published study of the relative permeability of living cells to deuterium oxide as compared with ordinary water, a question of prime importance to all interpretation and speculation as to the biological importance of the former. The work of Hevesy and Hofer ( '34) on the exchange of D2@ between surrounding and body fluids of fish involves permeability but not relative permeability to 'D20 and H,O. Recently Luck6 and Harvey ('35) have found that the permeability of eggs of the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata, to D2@ is the same as that to H20. The present studies, based upon a simple hemolytict method devised by Jacobs ('30), show that D20 penetrates sheep erythrocytes less rapidly than H2@.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

It is assumed in this method that the penetration of a definite amount of either D,O or H,O into an erythrocyte causes 'The D,O was prepared by the California Isotope Co., and the first lot was redistilled for 11s by Mr. Wells A. Webb of this university.