• DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1974.tb19129.x
• Corpus ID: 22238977

CHANGES IN SODIUM AND POTASSIUM IN HUMAN RED CELLS IN VIVO RELATED TO TREATMENT WITH DIGOXIN, TO HYPOKALEMIA, AND TO CELL DENSITY

@article{Astrup1974CHANGESIS,
  title={CHANGES IN SODIUM AND POTASSIUM IN HUMAN RED CELLS IN VIVO RELATED TO TREATMENT WITH DIGOXIN, TO HYPOKALEMIA, AND TO CELL DENSITY},
  author={Jens Astrup},
  journal={Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences},
  year={1974},
  volume={242}
}

• J. Astrup
• Published 1 November 1974
• Biology
• Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Human red cells are low-sodium and high-potassium cells. In vivo the sodium and potassium concentrations are maintained at a steady state by an active sodium outflux and potassium influx in balance with the leak fluxes of sodium and potassium in the opposite directions. This system has been especially well described in human red cells, and it follows from the kinetics of the sodium and potassium fluxes that an inhibition of active transport, o r an increase in membrane permeability for these monovalent cations, leads t o a cellular gain of sodium and loss of potassium. Since the fluxes of sodium and potassium in red cells are quite small, the net changes in cellular sodium and potassium concentrations as conditioned, for example, by an inhibition of active cation transport by adding a cardiac glycoside, can hardly be run t o a steady state in v i t ro . In v ivo , however, a steady state does develop, and consequently, net changes in red cell sodium and potassium concentrations occurring in vivo may be regarded as sensitive indicators of functional changes in red cell membrane.1*11~'5 The prospect of the study presented here has been t o describe the magnitude of the in vivo changes in red cell sodium and potassium in humans treated with digoxin. These were compared t o the changes found in patients with hypokalemia. This comparison was considered of particular interest t o the interpretation of the hypokalemia-cardiac glycoside interaction, often observed in the clinic. Furthermore, some preliminary data of changes in red cell sodium and potassium related to cell density will be shown.