In this report, we compared the effects on the growth of Lactobacillus plantarum of raising the medium molarity by high concentrations of KCl or NaCl and iso-osmotic concentrations of nonionic compounds. Analysis of cellular extracts for organic constituents by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that salt-stressed cells do not contain detectable amounts of organic osmolytes, whereas...

Swelling-induced loss of organic osmolytes from cells is mediated by an outwardly rectified, volume-sensitive anion channel termed VSOAC (Volume-Sensitive Organic osmolyte/Anion Channel). Similar swelling-activated anion channels have been described in numerous cell types. The unitary conductance and gating kinetics of VSOAC have been uncertain, however. Stationary noise analysis and single-cha...

Plants usually tolerate drought by producing organic solutes, which can either act as compatible osmolytes for maintaining turgor, or radical scavengers for protecting cellular functions. However, these two properties of organic solutes are often indistinguishable during stress progression. This study looked at individualizing properties of osmotic adjustment vs. osmoprotection in plants, using...

Natural selection is believed to be an unforgiving and relentless force in the evolution of life on earth. An organism that cannot adapt to a changing environment or an environment hostile to cell functions is at risk as a species. So it is important to understand the mechanisms used by plants, animals, and microorganisms in adapting to environments in the biosphere that would ordinarily denatu...

A mechanism used by cells to regulate their volume under hypo-osmotic conditions is the release of organic osmolytes, one of which is myo-inositol. The possibility that activation of phospholipase-C-linked receptors can regulate this process has been examined for SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Incubation of cells with hypo-osmolar buffers (160-250 mOsm) led to a biphasic release of inositol which...

PURPOSE Intracellular osmotic stress is believed to be linked to the advancement of diabetic cataract. Although the accumulation of organic osmolytes (myo-inositol, sorbitol, taurine) is thought to protect the lens by maintaining osmotic homeostasis, the physiologic implication of osmotic imbalance (i.e., hyperosmotic stress caused by intracellular over-accumulation of organic osmolytes) on dia...

Correction for 'Are stabilizing osmolytes preferentially excluded from the protein surface? FTIR and MD studies' by P. Bruździak et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 23155-23164.