A comparison of potassium flux in hepatomas with that in normal liver.

The behavior of intracellular potassium has been examined in ra t liver slices and in slices of dimethylaminoazobcnzcne-produccd hcpatomas. I t was found tha t both liver and hepatoma slices lost potassium during the first 15 minutes of incubation but then regained a portion of this during the ensuing 50-60 minutes. Hepa toma slices did not lose as much potassium as did liver slices, and the steady state concentration was higher in hepatomas than in liver. The total potassium flux per unit area of cell membrane calculated from the K 42 equilibration curves was smaller in hepatoma than in liver slices. The potassium flux is analyzed using both a compartmental t rea tmcnt and a calculation of permeabil i ty based on the T 1/2 plot. Both the permeabil i ty coefficient and the internal diffusion constant were found to be smaller in hepatoma than in liver.