Biophysical Journal 16: 1349-1355 (1976)
© 1976 the Biophysical Society

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Effects of alkali cations on the nuclear magnetic resonance intensity of 23Na in rat liver homogenate.

ABSTRACT

Effects of alkali cations on the nuclear magnetic resonance intensity of 23Na were studied in rat liver homogenate. The loss in the resonance intensity of 23Na in the homogenate was able to be divided into two components, one of which is abolished by the addition of Cs+ ("Cs-sensitive component"), the other being insensitive to Cs+ ("Cs-insensitive component"). Both components were sensitive to guanidinium ion. In a pH range of 7.4-4.9, the Cs-sensitive component varied remarkably, but the Cs-insensitive component remained virtually unchanged. The sequence of effectiveness of alkali cations (300 mmol/kg sample) in restoring the fractional intensity of 23Na was: Cs approximately Na greater than Li approximately Rb greater than K. It was suggested that the sequences of effectiveness of alkali cations in abolishing the two components are quite different from each other. The present results were examined within the framework of a simple model. Within this framework, the results suggest that there occur, in particulate fractions, sites whose affinity for Cs+ is sufficiently lower than that for Na+.