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Effect of Ca2+ on the Water and Non-electrolyte Permeability of Phospholipid Membranes

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Abstract

THE study of the effect of Ca2+ ions on phospholipid membranes by Tobias et al.1–3 has chiefly been devoted to electrical properties and ion fluxes in relation to the hypotheses concerning the axon shifts from the resting to the excited state4. Although Leitch and Tobias2 have shown that Ca2+ also induces great changes in the osmotic water flow across these membranes, little attention has been paid to this particular aspect of their behaviour. This report is a study of the modification of the water and non-electrolyte permeability of phospholipid membrane under the influence of calcium. The results obtained suggest the possible role of this ion in the control of cell membrane permeability to non-ionic species.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire, Collège de France, Paris, 5e

    C. M. GARY-BOBO

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  1. C. M. GARY-BOBO
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GARY-BOBO, C. Effect of Ca2+ on the Water and Non-electrolyte Permeability of Phospholipid Membranes. Nature 228, 1101–1102 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2281101a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2281101a0

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