Rate of potassium-sodium exchange by human lymphocytes: prediction of the cooperative adsorption model.

The equilibrium parameters of potassium-sodium distribution in human lymphocytes, determined experimentally in the preceding study (Negendank and Shaller, '79), were incorporated into a stochastic treatment of the cooperative adsorption model in order to predict the kinetics of "active" potassium-sodium exchange. The rate of uptake of potassium, in potassium-depleted, sodium-loaded cells, is complex and deviates markedly from simple exponential functions. The sigmoid form of the exchange data closely followed the predicted curve. This result enhances one's confidence in the usefulness and applicability of the cooperative adsorption model, and adds further support to the association-induction hypothesis as a coherent theory of cell physiology.