A possible role of cold-induced ionic stress in cold-induced cell death.

Analysis of experimental results and published data within the framework of the suggested mathematical model of ion-osmotic homeostasis revealed the dependence of a variety of cell parameters on temperature. It was shown that the cold-induced drastic increase in the basal concentration of cytoplasmic Ca was determined, on the one hand, by the suppression of transport processes responsible for Ca removal from the cytoplasm, and, on the other hand, by the increase of calcium fluxes, both from the outer medium and from cell organelles. The cold-induced variation in the ratio of permeabilities for Na and K ions was found, which can be due to the activation of different calcium- and potential-dependent channels or by formation of membrane defects. Besides the flow of calcium ions through appropriate selective channels, its delivery into the cytosol through membrane defects actively induced by cell cooling can not be excluded. Formation of nonselective transmembrane channels was promoted by lipid peroxidation and proteolysis induced by an increase in the basal concentration of calcium. The new approaches to protecting the cell from cold injury are discussed.

Analysis of electrical phenomena accompanying the growth of Neurospora crassa hyphae: theory and experiment.

To describe electrical phenomena observed in growth of Neurospora crassa hyphae, a theoretical model was developed considering the hypha as a one-dimensional electric cable with non-uniform longitudinal distribution of current sources reflecting the activity of proton pumps. A profile of the density of the pump current along the hypha is proposed, at which the results of simulation quantitatively coincide with the results of physiological experiments. The model values of energy coupling in the growth zones were estimated. The experimental dependence of the elongation rate of regenerating apical hypha fragments on their lengths was determined. Based on the comparison of these experimental results with the results of analysis of the model, the contribution of the axial metabolite transport, from the distal parts of the hypha to the apical part, to the dynamics of the apical cell growth was estimated. The possibility of evaluating the intensity of high-molecular-weight syntheses and/or accumulation of substances in granules was demonstrated. The growth rate of the regenerating hypha fragments was shown to correlate with the electric current flowing into the apical fragment 0.2-mm in length.