Water-Electrolyte Balance
The balance of fluid in the BODY FLUID COMPARTMENTS; total BODY WATER; BLOOD VOLUME; EXTRACELLULAR SPACE; INTRACELLULAR SPACE, maintained by processes in the body that regulate the intake and excretion of WATER and ELECTROLYTES, particularly SODIUM and POTASSIUM.
Osmoregulation
The response of cells in sensing a difference in OSMOTIC PRESSURE between the inside and outside of the cell. This response includes signaling from osmotic sensors to activate transcription factors, which in turn regulate the expression of osmocompensatory genes, all functioning to maintain CELL VOLUME and the water concentration inside the cells.
Gills
Paired respiratory organs of fishes and some amphibians that are analogous to lungs. They are richly supplied with blood vessels by which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged directly with the environment.
Betaine
A naturally occurring compound that has been of interest for its role in osmoregulation. As a drug, betaine hydrochloride has been used as a source of hydrochloric acid in the treatment of hypochlorhydria. Betaine has also been used in the treatment of liver disorders, for hyperkalemia, for homocystinuria, and for gastrointestinal disturbances. (From Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p1341)
Osmolar Concentration
Osmotic Pressure
Osmosis
Tendency of fluids (e.g., water) to move from the less concentrated to the more concentrated side of a semipermeable membrane.
Salinity
Degree of saltiness, which is largely the OSMOLAR CONCENTRATION of SODIUM CHLORIDE plus any other SALTS present. It is an ecological factor of considerable importance, influencing the types of organisms that live in an ENVIRONMENT.
Seawater
The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.
Ascaridoidea
Tilapia
Batrachoidiformes
An order of bottom fishes with short, small, spinous dorsal fins. It is comprised of one family (Batrachoididae) and about 70 species.
Sodium Chloride
A ubiquitous sodium salt that is commonly used to season food.
Salt Gland
A compound tubular gland, located around the eyes and nasal passages in marine animals and birds, the physiology of which figures in water-electrolyte balance. The Pekin duck serves as a common research animal in salt gland studies. A rectal gland or rectal salt gland in the dogfish shark is attached at the junction of the intestine and cloaca and aids the kidneys in removing excess salts from the blood. (Storer, Usinger, Stebbins & Nybakken: General Zoology, 6th ed, p658)
Thirst
A drive stemming from a physiological need for WATER.
Squalus acanthias
A species of shark in the family SQUALIDAE, used for its oil (SQUALENE) and as fish meal. It also figures heavily in biological research, especially with reference to its RECTAL GLAND in studies of WATER-ELECTROLYTE BALANCE.
Antimony Potassium Tartrate
Taurine
Eels
Common name for an order (Anguilliformes) of voracious, elongate, snakelike teleost fishes.
Sorbitol
A polyhydric alcohol with about half the sweetness of sucrose. Sorbitol occurs naturally and is also produced synthetically from glucose. It was formerly used as a diuretic and may still be used as a laxative and in irrigating solutions for some surgical procedures. It is also used in many manufacturing processes, as a pharmaceutical aid, and in several research applications.
Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
Hypotonic Solutions
Solutions that have a lesser osmotic pressure than a reference solution such as blood, plasma, or interstitial fluid.
Saline Solution, Hypertonic
Hypertonic sodium chloride solution. A solution having an osmotic pressure greater than that of physiologic salt solution (0.9 g NaCl in 100 ml purified water).
Skates (Fish)
Escherichia coli
A species of gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria (GRAM-NEGATIVE FACULTATIVELY ANAEROBIC RODS) commonly found in the lower part of the intestine of warm-blooded animals. It is usually nonpathogenic, but some strains are known to produce DIARRHEA and pyogenic infections. Pathogenic strains (virotypes) are classified by their specific pathogenic mechanisms such as toxins (ENTEROTOXIGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI), etc.
Proline
Salt-Tolerance
Vacuoles
Fresh Water
Water containing no significant amounts of salts, such as water from RIVERS and LAKES.
Aquaporins
Vasopressins
Antidiuretic hormones released by the NEUROHYPOPHYSIS of all vertebrates (structure varies with species) to regulate water balance and OSMOLARITY. In general, vasopressin is a nonapeptide consisting of a six-amino-acid ring with a cysteine 1 to cysteine 6 disulfide bridge or an octapeptide containing a CYSTINE. All mammals have arginine vasopressin except the pig with a lysine at position 8. Vasopressin, a vasoconstrictor, acts on the KIDNEY COLLECTING DUCTS to increase water reabsorption, increase blood volume and blood pressure.
Kidney Concentrating Ability
The ability of the kidney to excrete in the urine high concentrations of solutes from the blood plasma.
Brachyura
Polyphosphates
Fish Proteins
Proteins obtained from species of fish (FISHES).
Hypertonic Solutions
Solutions that have a greater osmotic pressure than a reference solution such as blood, plasma, or interstitial fluid.
Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase
An enzyme that catalyzes the active transport system of sodium and potassium ions across the cell wall. Sodium and potassium ions are closely coupled with membrane ATPase which undergoes phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, thereby providing energy for transport of these ions against concentration gradients.
Adaptation, Physiological
Glycerol
Kidney Medulla
The internal portion of the kidney, consisting of striated conical masses, the renal pyramids, whose bases are adjacent to the cortex and whose apices form prominent papillae projecting into the lumen of the minor calyces.
Inositol
An isomer of glucose that has traditionally been considered to be a B vitamin although it has an uncertain status as a vitamin and a deficiency syndrome has not been identified in man. (From Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p1379) Inositol phospholipids are important in signal transduction.
Potassium
An element in the alkali group of metals with an atomic symbol K, atomic number 19, and atomic weight 39.10. It is the chief cation in the intracellular fluid of muscle and other cells. Potassium ion is a strong electrolyte that plays a significant role in the regulation of fluid volume and maintenance of the WATER-ELECTROLYTE BALANCE.
Trehalose
Sodium
Arginine Vasopressin
Porins
Porins are protein molecules that were originally found in the outer membrane of GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA and that form multi-meric channels for the passive DIFFUSION of WATER; IONS; or other small molecules. Porins are present in bacterial CELL WALLS, as well as in plant, fungal, mammalian and other vertebrate CELL MEMBRANES and MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANES.
Dehydration
The condition that results from excessive loss of water from a living organism.
Intestines
Mutation
Molecular Sequence Data
Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.
Oncorhynchus mykiss
A large stout-bodied, sometimes anadromous, TROUT found in still and flowing waters of the Pacific coast from southern California to Alaska. It has a greenish back, a whitish belly, and pink, red, or lavender stripes on the sides, with usually a sprinkling of black dots. It is highly regarded as a sport and food fish. Its former name was Salmo gairdneri. The sea-run rainbow trouts are often called steelheads. Redband trouts refer to interior populations of rainbows.
Larva
Urea
A compound formed in the liver from ammonia produced by the deamination of amino acids. It is the principal end product of protein catabolism and constitutes about one half of the total urinary solids.
Culture Media
Any liquid or solid preparation made specifically for the growth, storage, or transport of microorganisms or other types of cells. The variety of media that exist allow for the culturing of specific microorganisms and cell types, such as differential media, selective media, test media, and defined media. Solid media consist of liquid media that have been solidified with an agent such as AGAR or GELATIN.
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Biological Transport
Choline
Escherichia coli Proteins
Proteins obtained from ESCHERICHIA COLI.
Amino Acid Sequence
The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.
Sucrose
Water
Cloning, Molecular
Gene Expression Regulation
Fishes
A group of cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates having gills, fins, a cartilaginous or bony endoskeleton, and elongated bodies covered with scales.
Dictyostelium
Multienzyme Complexes
Systems of enzymes which function sequentially by catalyzing consecutive reactions linked by common metabolic intermediates. They may involve simply a transfer of water molecules or hydrogen atoms and may be associated with large supramolecular structures such as MITOCHONDRIA or RIBOSOMES.
Body Water
Fluids composed mainly of water found within the body.
Phenotype
Base Sequence
Cell Membrane
Kidney
RNA, Messenger
RNA sequences that serve as templates for protein synthesis. Bacterial mRNAs are generally primary transcripts in that they do not require post-transcriptional processing. Eukaryotic mRNA is synthesized in the nucleus and must be exported to the cytoplasm for translation. Most eukaryotic mRNAs have a sequence of polyadenylic acid at the 3' end, referred to as the poly(A) tail. The function of this tail is not known for certain, but it may play a role in the export of mature mRNA from the nucleus as well as in helping stabilize some mRNA molecules by retarding their degradation in the cytoplasm.
Ion Channels
Plasmids
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
The degree of similarity between sequences of amino acids. This information is useful for the analyzing genetic relatedness of proteins and species.
Promoter Regions, Genetic
Protein Kinases
Transcription, Genetic
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Sequence Alignment
The arrangement of two or more amino acid or base sequences from an organism or organisms in such a way as to align areas of the sequences sharing common properties. The degree of relatedness or homology between the sequences is predicted computationally or statistically based on weights assigned to the elements aligned between the sequences. This in turn can serve as a potential indicator of the genetic relatedness between the organisms.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Analysis of Variance
Amino Acids
Models, Biological
Membrane Proteins
Signal Transduction
The intracellular transfer of information (biological activation/inhibition) through a signal pathway. In each signal transduction system, an activation/inhibition signal from a biologically active molecule (hormone, neurotransmitter) is mediated via the coupling of a receptor/enzyme to a second messenger system or to an ion channel. Signal transduction plays an important role in activating cellular functions, cell differentiation, and cell proliferation. Examples of signal transduction systems are the GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID-postsynaptic receptor-calcium ion channel system, the receptor-mediated T-cell activation pathway, and the receptor-mediated activation of phospholipases. Those coupled to membrane depolarization or intracellular release of calcium include the receptor-mediated activation of cytotoxic functions in granulocytes and the synaptic potentiation of protein kinase activation. Some signal transduction pathways may be part of larger signal transduction pathways; for example, protein kinase activation is part of the platelet activation signal pathway.
Calcium
A basic element found in nearly all organized tissues. It is a member of the alkaline earth family of metals with the atomic symbol Ca, atomic number 20, and atomic weight 40. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and combines with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate in the bones and teeth. It is essential for the normal functioning of nerves and muscles and plays a role in blood coagulation (as factor IV) and in many enzymatic processes.