Effect of temperature on intracellular pH in crayfish neurons and muscle fibers.

Intracellular pH microelectrodes were used to determine the effects of temperature (13-26 degrees C) on the in vitro regulation of intracellular acid-base status of neurons and muscle fibers of the crayfish Astacus leptodactylus. The values of the temperature coefficients delta pH/delta T (pH unit/degrees C) were -0.019 and -0.026 for muscles and neurons, respectively, values which are close to the temperature coefficient (-0.019) of the pK' of protein imidazole buffer groups. When temperature varies, the dissociation ratio of imidazole groups is thus maintained by the cellular regulation of cytoplasmic pH. According to the alphastat regulation hypothesis, this constancy would minimize the temperature effects on enzymic systems.