Responses of lymphocytes to anisotonic media: volume-regulating behavior

The regulatory responses elicited in lymphoid cells suspended in anisotonic media are reviewed. The immediate response approximates osmometric behavior. In addition, in hypotonic media, the initial osmometric swelling is followed by a regulatory volume decrease (RVD), which is associated with KCl loss. The volume-induced effluxes of K+ and Cl- are mediated by two independent conductive pathways. Ca2+-depletion experiments and studies of inhibitor susceptibility suggest that Ca2+ may mediate the activation of the K+ pathway. The responses of the two main lymphocyte subpopulations to hypotonic challenge are different. RVD is much more rapid in T- than in B-cells, regardless of their tissue of origin. Under certain conditions, shrunken lymphocytes will regain their initial volume. This regulatory volume increase (RVI) is due to NaCl uptake, followed by a secondary exchange of Na+ for K+ via the Na+-K+ pump. Na+ is primarily taken up in exchange for H+ through an amiloride-sensitive pathway, whereas Cl- enters in exchange for HCO-3 (or OH-). Anion and cation fluxes responsible for RVI are electroneutral. Some of the volume-sensitive pathways can also be activated in isotonic cells. The conductive K+ pathway is activated by Ca2+ plus ionophore A23187, and the Na+-H+ exchanger can be activated by cytoplasmic acidification. The responses of lymphocytes to anisotonic challenge are compared with those of other cells, and the possible significance of the volume-induced fluxes is discussed.