ATP release from hypotonically stressed skate RBC: Potential role in osmolyte channel regulation†

A variety of cells, including skate RBC, release osmolytes (e.g. taurine) when hypotonically swollen as part of a regulatory volume decrease. In this study we show that skate RBC also release ATP into the incubation medium under the same conditions. Furthermore extracellular ATP as well as other nucleotides likely to be released from the RBC, inhibit the hypotonically activated transport of taurine. Therefore, ATP and other nucleotides released from hypotonically stressed RBC have the potential to act as modulators of osmolyte release during hyposmotic stress. J. Exp. Zool. 296A:160–163, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.