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Osmotic shock

 

 
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Osmotic shock
 
 
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Osmotic shock or osmotic stress is a sudden change in the solute
Solution

In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent....
 concentration around a cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
, causing a rapid change in the movement of water across its cell membrane
Cell membrane

The cell membrane is the interface between the cellular machinery inside the cell and the fluid outside.It is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cell ....
. Under conditions of high concentrations of either salt
Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
s, substrates
Substrate (biology)

In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon. The substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives above the algae on the rock....
 or any solute in the supernatant water is drawn out of the cells through osmosis
Osmosis

Osmosis is the diffusion of a solvent through a Semipermeable membrane, from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration , up a solute concentration gradient....
. This also inhibits the transport of substrates and cofactors into the cell thus “shocking” the cell. Alternatively, at low concentrations of solutes, water enters the cell in large amounts, causing it to swell and either burst or undergo apoptosis
Apoptosis

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Programmed Cell death involves a series of biochemical events leading to a characteristic cell Morphology and death, in more specific terms, a series of biochemical events that lead to a variety of morphological changes, including Bleb , changes...
.

All organisms have mechanisms to respond to osmotic shock, with sensors and signal transduction
Signal transduction

In biology, 'signal transduction' refers to any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. Most processes of signal transduction involve ordered sequences of biochemistry chemical reaction inside the cell, which are carried out by enzymes, activated by Second messenger systems, resulting in a signal tran...
 networks providing information to the cell about the osmolarity
Osmole (unit)

Osmolarity is a measure of solute concentration, defined as the number of osmole s of solute per liter of solution . The osmolarity of a solution is usually expressed as Osm , in the same way that the molarity of a solution is expressed as "M" ....
 of its surroundings, these signals activate responses to deal with extreme conditions.






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Osmotic shock or osmotic stress is a sudden change in the solute
Solution

In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent....
 concentration around a cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
, causing a rapid change in the movement of water across its cell membrane
Cell membrane

The cell membrane is the interface between the cellular machinery inside the cell and the fluid outside.It is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cell ....
. Under conditions of high concentrations of either salt
Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
s, substrates
Substrate (biology)

In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon. The substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives above the algae on the rock....
 or any solute in the supernatant water is drawn out of the cells through osmosis
Osmosis

Osmosis is the diffusion of a solvent through a Semipermeable membrane, from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration , up a solute concentration gradient....
. This also inhibits the transport of substrates and cofactors into the cell thus “shocking” the cell. Alternatively, at low concentrations of solutes, water enters the cell in large amounts, causing it to swell and either burst or undergo apoptosis
Apoptosis

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Programmed Cell death involves a series of biochemical events leading to a characteristic cell Morphology and death, in more specific terms, a series of biochemical events that lead to a variety of morphological changes, including Bleb , changes...
.

All organisms have mechanisms to respond to osmotic shock, with sensors and signal transduction
Signal transduction

In biology, 'signal transduction' refers to any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. Most processes of signal transduction involve ordered sequences of biochemistry chemical reaction inside the cell, which are carried out by enzymes, activated by Second messenger systems, resulting in a signal tran...
 networks providing information to the cell about the osmolarity
Osmole (unit)

Osmolarity is a measure of solute concentration, defined as the number of osmole s of solute per liter of solution . The osmolarity of a solution is usually expressed as Osm , in the same way that the molarity of a solution is expressed as "M" ....
 of its surroundings, these signals activate responses to deal with extreme conditions. Although single-celled organisms are more vulnerable to osmotic shock, since they are directly exposed to their environment, cells in large animals such as mammals still suffer these stresses under some conditions.

Calcium acts as one of the primary regulators of osmotic stress. Intracellular calcium levels rise during hypo-osmotic and hyper-osmotic stresses. During hyper-osmotic stress extracellular albumin
Albumin

Albumin refers generally to any protein with water solubility, which is moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experiences heat Denaturation ....
 binds calcium.

Recovery and Tolerance Mechanisms for Hyper-osmotic Stress

Extracellular sequestering of Calcium
Calcium

Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the earth's Crust ....
 by blood Albumin
Albumin

Albumin refers generally to any protein with water solubility, which is moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experiences heat Denaturation ....


Transient intracellular Ca2+ increase.

Recovery and Tolerance Mechanisms for Hypo-osmotic Stress

Intracellular Ca2+ increase and Extracellular ATP Release

Calcium dependent efflux of the osmolyte Taurine
Taurine

Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic acid. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in the lower intestine and in small amounts in the tissues of many animals and in humans as well....
. Extracellular calcium removal was found to prevent Taurine efflux by 50%, and removal of extracellular Ca2+ and simultaneous depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores with thapsigargin
Thapsigargin

Thapsigargin is a tight-binding Enzyme inhibitor of a class of enzymes known by the acronym SERCA, which stands for sarcoplasmic reticulum / endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase....
 decreased it by 85%..

Osmotic Damage in Humans

See Osmotic_demyelination_syndrome

See also

  • Osmolyte
    Osmolyte

    Osmolytes are organic compounds affecting osmosis. They are soluble in the solution within a cell. They play a role in maintaining cell volume and fluid balance....
  • Myo-Inositol
    Inositol

    Inositol, , is a carbocyclic polyol that plays an important role as the structural basis for a number of secondary messengers in Eukaryote cell s, including inositol phosphates, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylinositol phosphate lipids....
  • Taurine
    Taurine

    Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic acid. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in the lower intestine and in small amounts in the tissues of many animals and in humans as well....
     and Taurine-transporting ATPase
    Taurine-transporting ATPase

    In enzymology, a taurine-transporting ATPase is an enzyme that catalysis the chemical reactionThe 3 substrate of this enzyme are adenosine triphosphate, water, and taurine, whereas its 3 product are adenosine diphosphate, phosphate, and taurine....
  • Creatine
    Creatine

    Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscle. Creatine was identified in 1832 when Michel Eug?ne Chevreul discovered it as a component of skeletal muscle, which he later named creatine after the Greek language word for flesh, Kreas....
  • Betaines
    Betaines

    A betaine in chemistry is any neutral chemical compound with a positively charged cationic functional group such as an ammonium ion or phosphonium ion which bears no hydrogen atom and with a negatively charged functional group such as a carboxylate group which may not be adjacent to the cationic site....
  • Trimethylglycine
    Trimethylglycine

    Trimethylglycine , is an organic compound described by the chemical formula 3N+CH2CO2H. Trimethylglycine was originally named betaine after its discovery in sugar beets in the 19th century....
     - A Betaine and metabolite of Choline
    Choline

    Choline is an organic compound, classified as a water-soluble essential nutrient and usually grouped within the Vitamin B complex. This natural amine is found in the lipids that make up cell membranes and in the neurotransmitter acetylcholine....
  • Sorbitol
    Sorbitol

    Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, is a sugar alcohol that the body metabolises slowly. It is obtained by Redox of glucose changing the aldehyde group to an additional hydroxyl group....
  • Glycerophosphocholine