Osmoregulation Flashcards
What is the apical membrane of a cell?
side that faces the environment
What is the basolateral membrane of a cell?
side that faces the lumen/blood
What is interstitial fluid?
fluid trapped between cells that does not exchange easily
- composition similar to plasma in most organisms (few exceptions)
- composition differs dramatically in freshwater vs. seawater environments
What is the endothelium?
separates skin layer from blood layer
What are the 3 homeostatic processes?
- osmotic regulation: osmotic pressure of body fluids
- ionic regulation: concentrations of specific ions
- nitrogen excretion: excretion of end-products of protein metabolism
What is the Fick equation?
calculates rate of diffusion (flux rate)
dQs/dt = Ds x A x dC/dX
- Ds: diffusion coefficient (Ds): includes size of molecule and hydration shell
- A: diffusion area
- dC/dX: size of concentration gradient, where x = distance
- direction of diffusion depends on concentration gradient
What is osmotic pressure?
pressure that draws water largely due to driving force of solute concentration
What counteracts osmotic pressure?
- hydrostatic pressure
- gravity
What are the 3 ways to classify/compare two solutions?
- solution with higher osmolarity is hyperosmotic
- solution with lower osmolarity is hyposmotic
- osmolarities that are the same are isosmotic
What is a semipermeable membrane permeable to? How does this affect responses in regulation?
- permeable to water
- impermeable to salt
- water moves quicker than ions (charged molecules)
- first response is water movement, second response is potential salt movement (depending on membrane permeability)
What is tonicity?
effect of a solution on cell volume
What are the 3 classes of tonicity?
- hypertonic solution: cells shrink – water leaves cell by osmosis
- hypotonic solution: cells swell – water enters cell by osmosis
- isotonic solution: cell neither shrinks nor swells – no net osmosis (but water is still always moving)
Why is water and solute regulation of the intracellular and extracellular space important? (2)
- increased intracellular osmolarity can directly interfere with cellular processes (ie. protein-protein interactions, cellular fluidity for diffusion)
- changes in osmolarity can result in movement of water across membrane, which changes cell volume
How does increased intracellular osmolarity affect proteins such as hemoglobin?
- crystallizes – cannot hold O2 anymore, therefore non-functional
- Hb is packed in RBC, on the verge of solubility and turning into crystals – dehydrated RBC can cause Hb to crystallize inside RBC
How does increased intracellular osmolarity affect cellular and membrane fluidity?
cellular fluidity and membrane fluidity is largely affected by volume
- stretches membranes
- changes barrier of membrane between inside and outside
Changes in osmolarity can result in movement of water across membrane, which changes cell volume. Why is this important?
cells are very susceptible to volume changes, but also well-designed to deal with changes
- moderate cell swelling → disruption of membrane
- excessive cell swelling → cell lysis
- excessive cell shrinkage → macromolecular crowding
How is cell volume regulated?
- cells transport solutes in and out of ECF (regulates composition) to control cell volume
- water follows solutes by osmosis
What is sodium regulated by?
- Na+/K+ ATPase: pumps 3 Na+ out for 2 K+ in
- Na+/H+ exchanger: driven by potential difference across cell membrane (does not require ATP) that is usually generated by NKA
What is potassium regulated by?
- Na+/K+ ATPase: pumps 3 Na+ out for 2 K+ in
What is chloride regulated by?
- generally distributed passively (Goldman equation)
What is calcium regulated by?
- Na+/Ca+ antiporter
- Ca2+ ATPase
What is regulatory volume increase (RVI)?
cells increase volume (swell) by actively importing ions, then water follows ions passively causing swelling and expansion
- different cells use different transporters
- usually achieved by activating NKCC
- alternatively by opening Na+ channels, Cl- channels, Na+/H+ exchangers
How do Na+/H+ exchangers work?
H+ comes from metabolism or CO2 and is pumped out while bicarbonate stays inside
What is regulatory volume decrease (RVD)?
cells actively decrease volume by exporting ions into lumen, then water follows passively
- different cells use different transporters
- usually achieved by opening K+ channels – K+ leaves cell (down electrochemical gradient) because RMP for K+ is -90 mV
- Cl- channels also open – Cl- leaves cell in response to hyperpolarizing effects of K+ movement
- Na+/K+ ATPase also pumps 3 Na+ out for 2 K+ in
How is water (and cell volume) regulated?
- passively regulated in response to changes in ions and osmolality
- different types of ion transporters exist that are species and tissue-specific in driving water transport
How does water cross cell membranes?
by moving through aquaporins (like ion channels, but for larger molecules) that work very specifically for polar water because they are charged
What are the ionic and osmotic challenges of marine environments?
most animals tend to gain salts and lose water
What are the ionic and osmotic challenges of freshwater environments?
animals tend to lose salts and gain water
What are the ionic and osmotic challenges of terrestrial environments?
animals tend to lose water
What are the two strategies to meet ionic challenges?
- ionoconformer
- ionoregulator
What are ionoconformers?
exert little control over ion profile within extracellular space
- exclusively found in marine animals – ie. many invertebrates and hagfish
- many invertebrates’ ECF is almost identical to seawater
What are ionoregulators?
control ion profile of extracellular space
- more popular – ie. most vertebrates
What are the two strategies to meet osmotic challenges?
- osmoconformer
- osmoregulator
What are osmoconformers?
internal and external osmolarity similar
- ie. marine invertebrates
What are osmoregulators?
osmolarity constant regardless of external environment
- ie. most vertebrates
What are the two classes describing the ability to cope with external salinities?
- stenohaline: can tolerate only narrow range
- euryhaline: can tolerate wide range
Classify cnidarians (ionoconformer/ionoregulator and osmoconformer/osmoregulator).
- ionoconformers – ion composition very similar to seawater
- osmoconformers – osmolality is very similar to seawater, no net water flux between inside and outside
Classify hagfish (ionoconformer/ionoregulator and osmoconformer/osmoregulator).
- ionoconformers – ion composition very similar to seawater
- osmoconformers – osmolality is very similar to seawater, no net water flux between inside and outside
Classify sharks (ionoconformer/ionoregulator and osmoconformer/osmoregulator).
- ionoregulators – ions are regulated differently than seawater (Na+ and Cl- much lower than seawater, use urea and methylamines to make up the difference)
- osmoregulators
Classify marine bivalves (ionoconformer/ionoregulator and osmoconformer/osmoregulator).
- ionoregulators – use amino acids to make up the differences
- osmoconformers
Classify bony fish and all vertebrates (ionoconformer/ionoregulator and osmoconformer/osmoregulator).
- ionoregulators
- osmoregulator – osmolality is ⅓ seawater
Euryhaline Osmoconformer
- can tolerate wide range
- allows osmolarity to decrease in parallel with water until death
- internal osmolality of plasma or extracellular place decreases as external osmolarity decreases
Stenohaline Osmoconformer
- cannot tolerate much change – dies after very modest osmotic disruption
- internal osmolality changes as external osmolality changes
Euryhaline Osmoregulator
- defends nearly constant internal state for some time, but eventually succumbs
- internal osmolality does not change much as external osmolality decreases
Stenohaline Osmoregulator
- can defend its internal osmolarity over narrow range of external osmolarities
What are the 3 classes of solutes? What are they distinguished by?
distinguished by their effects on macromolecules
- perturbing solute
- compatible solute
- counteracting solute
What are perturbing solutes? How do they affect macromolecular function?
high concentration disrupts macromolecular function
- Na+, K+, Cl-, SO4+, charged amino acids
- charges induce 3D conformation change
What are compatible solutes? How do they affect macromolecular function?
changes in concentration have little effect on macromolecular function
- can increase in concentration if necessary (ie. to increase osmolality) without negative effects on proteins
- polyols (glycerol, glucose), uncharged amino acids
What are counteracting solutes? How do they affect macromolecular function?
disrupt function on their own, but counteract disruptive effects of other solutes when employed in combination
What is Km?
affinity of enzyme for substrate
How does Km change as perturbing solute concentration increases?
increasing perturbing solute concentration causes large increase in Km of enzyme
- enzyme requires more and more substrate to convert substrate to product
- reduces affinity of enzyme for substrate (need lots more substrate for same effect)
How does Km change as compatible solute concentration increases?
increasing compatible solute concentration does not affect Km of enzyme
How does Km change as counteracting solute concentration increases?
- increasing urea concentration alone increases Km of enzyme
- increasing TMAO concentration alone decreases Km of enzyme
- combining urea and TMAO (in 2:1 ratio) does not affect Km
ie. elasmobranchs are osmoconformers (plasma osmolarity is same as seawater), but their ion levels (Na+, Cl-) are lower
- balance this by increasing urea and TMAO
- urea is end product of protein breakdown, excreted in urine in humans – but sharks retain urea
What are the primary osmoregulatory epithelia of vertebrates?
- gills
- kidney
- digestive system
Which organisms can produce concentrated (hyperosmotic relative to blood) urine at the kidneys?
only birds and mammals
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of marine elasmobranchs?
- slightly hyperosmotic blood concentration relative to environment
- isosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- does not drink seawater – hyperosmotic NaCl from rectal gland
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of marine teleosts?
- hyposmotic blood concentration relative to environment
- isosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- drinks seawater – secretes salt from gills
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of freshwater teleosts?
- hyperosmotic blood concentration relative to environment
- hyposmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- drinks no water – absorbs salt with gills
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of amphibians?
- hyperosmotic blood concentration relative to environment
- hyposmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- absorbs salt through skin
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of marine reptiles?
- hyposmotic blood concentration relative to environment
- isosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- drinks seawater – hyperosmotic salt gland secretion
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of desert mammals?
- hyperosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- drinks no water – depends on metabolic water
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of marine mammals?
- hyposmotic blood concentration relative to environment
- hyperosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- does not drink seawater – because cannot create urine that is more concentrated than seawater (requires specialized kidney)
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of marine birds?
- hyperosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- drinks seawater – hyperosmotic salt-grand secretion
What are the osmoregulatory strategies of terrestrial birds?
- hyperosmotic urine concentration relative to blood
- drinks freshwater
What are the epithelial tissue properties for ion movement? (4)
- asymmetrical distribution of membrane transporters – transporters differ on apical and basolateral surfaces
- cells are interconnected (via tight junctions) to form impermeable sheet of tissue – prevents water loss
- high cell diversity within tissue
- abundant mitochondria to provide ATP for ion transport
What are the two main routes of solute transport that epithelial cells use?
- transcellular transport: movement through cell
- paracellular transport: movement between cells (“leaky epithelia”)
What are the types of transporters used for solute movement? (4)
- Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA) – creates electrochemical gradient
- various channels (Cl-, K+, Na+)
- electroneutral cotransporters
- electroneutral exchangers
How do freshwater fish osmoregulate?
- passively gains water and loses ions across gill and gut
- produces dilute urine in kidney to get rid of water
- actively absorbs ions at gill
How do seawater fish osmoregulate?
- passively lose water and gain ions across gill and gut
- cannot produce concentrated urine to conserve water
- drinks to obtain water
- actively secretes ions at gill
What transports ions in fish gills?
- ionocytes on gill arch filaments (site of active ion regulation)
- sometimes lamellae
What are ionocytes?
cells with lots of mitochondria, and high levels of Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA) activity to drive ion movement
What does the direction of ion transport depend on?
water salinity
What is the driving force for ion regulation in fish gills?
in both seawater and freshwater gill, Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA) on basolateral membrane is driving force for ion regulation – generates Na+ uptake or Cl- excretion
- then different transports direct entry and exit
What is the PNA- cell of freshwater gills?
site of sodium uptake
- NKA creates driving force for Na+ uptake
- Na+ taken up into cell by Na+ channel or Na+/H+ transporter
- H+ that gets pumped out of cell eliminates positive charge, which helps create driving gradient for Na+ uptake
- different species use different combinations for Na+ uptake
What is the PNA+ cell of freshwater gills?
site of calcium and chloride uptake
- NKA creates gradient
- CO2 diffuses into cell and dissociates into bicarbonate and protons in presence of CA
- H+ moves back into blood, and bicarbonate drives HCO3-/Cl- exchanger, which drives Cl- from water into cell
- Ca2+ ATPase pumps Ca2+ into cell, then Ca2+ is transported into blood through Ca2+ channel or Na+/Cl- exchanger
What occurs in seawater gills?
want to excrete salts
- NKA is also on basolateral membrane
- but different type of transporter (compared to freshwater cell) – cotransporter NKCC (non-ATPase-requiring transporter), then Cl- moves into environment
What is a diadromous fish?
fish that move between freshwater and seawater during their life cycle
What is a catadromous fish?
adults live in freshwater, breed in seawater
ie. eel
What is an anadromous fish?
adults live in seawater, breed in freshwater
ie. salmon
What is smoltification?
smolt must physiologically change/prepare for seawater while still residing in freshwater
- if it converts from freshwater to seawater form too early, it dies
- photoperiod is major driver of smoltification
Mechanisms of Salt Secretion (Hyperosmotic Environments)
see diagram
Mechanisms of Salt Secretion (Hyperosmotic Environments)
see diagram
What are salt glands?
glands in birds and reptiles located near eye that drain into ducts that empty near nostril
What do salt glands do?
excrete hyperosmotic solutions of Na+ and Cl- that are produced by ion pumps and countercurrent multiplier
- large amount of salt excreted in small volume of water (highly saline water droplet)
- pumps salt from blood into cell, and into lumen which excretes salt
- cells use and localize existing transporters found in every cell
Why can marine birds (ie. seagulls) drink seawater?
because they can create a solution that is hyperosmotic to seawater