Increased human red cell cation passive permeability below 12 degrees C.
The rate of most biological reactions declines as the temperature is reduced; indeed, cooling is often used to limit or terminate reactions. We report here a paradoxical temperature response of red cell K and Na permeability below 12 degrees C. This may be interpreted thermodynamically in terms of a membrane-ordering phenomenon, an observation supported by a variety of other physical measurements on red cell membranes reported in the literature.
D000838:Anions / Q000097:blood; D001692:Biological Transport; D001693:Biological Transport, Active; D002412:Cations / Q000097:blood; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood; D013816:Thermodynamics
D000838:Anions; D002412:Cations; D012964:Sodium; D011188:Potassium