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Measurement of intracellular pH in sea urchin eggs by 31 P NMR
Author(s) -
Inoue Hiroko,
Yoshioka Tohru
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1041050310
Subject(s) - sea urchin , intracellular ph , base (topology) , human fertilization , hemicentrotus , intracellular , biology , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , anaerobic exercise , seawater , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , biochemistry , stereochemistry , ecology , anatomy , physiology , mathematical analysis , mathematics
The intracellular pH (pH i ) of sea urchin eggs was measured using 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The mean value of pH i of unfertilized eggs was about 6.2 ( H. pulcherrimus and A. crassispina ) to 6.3 ( P. depressus ). In contrast to results of other studies, pH i of sea urchin eggs was not changed after fertilization. During exposure of the eggs to NH 4 Cl or procaine‐containing natural sea water (NSW), however, pH i rose about 0.4‐0.8 pH units; the pH i fell to its initial value upon washing the eggs with weak basefree NSW. These changes of pH i by weak base treatment agreed well with the data obtained by other workers. In order to understand the discrepancy of pH i changes in fertilized eggs between NMR data and other measuring procedures, we measured acid production and O 2 uptake, so that CO 2 accumulation and proton release did not result in alkalinization. The invariance of the fertilized eggs under anaerobic conditions; otherwise NMR showed a different answer from other measuring procedures, because of its particular characteristics such as non‐destructivity and compartmentation of pH.