Na and K levels in blood and marrow cells of normal and phenylhydrazine-treated rabbits

¹ Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky

Sodium and potassium contents of marrow cells, blood cells, and plasma were measured in normal rabbits and rabbits injected subcutaneously with phenylhydrazine to determine if small quantities of this chemical affected the ability of the blood and marrow cells to maintain their normal levels of these ions. There was a decrease in potassium content of red blood cells within 24 hr after administration of the compound, followed subsequently by a slight rise in plasma potassium. Apparently any effect was closely related to the time of blood sampling after the last injection, recovery occurring within several days if injections were not repeated at frequent intervals. The sodium and potassium analyses of normal bone marrow cells revealed differences in ionic concentration dissimilar to normal blood cells, the average sodium concentrations being higher and potassium concentrations lower in the former cells. Separation of marrow cells into three groups by prolonged centrifugation demonstrated a progressive increase in sodium and a decrease in potassium concentration from the lower to the upper stratum, possibly indicating a greater degree of ionic pumping in the more dense cells.