INTRACELLULAR PH AND BUFFERING POWER OF MOUSE HEPATOCYTES TREATED WITH CARBON-DIOXIDE

Intracellular pH (pH(i)) was microfluorimetrically measured using BCEC F in mouse hepatocytes treated with CO2-containing external solutions, and the buffering power of the cells was estimated. Under the control conditions (extracellularly, Hanks solution with 4 mM bicarbonate, pH (o) 7.4-7.5), pH(i) was near 7.2. In Hanks solution containing 1.6 and 5.0 mM carbonic acid in non-dissociated form (pH(o), resp., 6.5 and 6 .0), pH(i) decreased to 7.0 and 6.7, resp. In this pH(i) range hepatoc yte buffering power averaged 60-80 slykes. The results are discussed i n connection with recent double whole-cell studies of the pH-dependenc e of cell-cell junctional conductance.