Swelling-activated potassium currents of Ehrlich ascites tumour cells.

The K+ and Cl- currents activated by Ca2+-ionophore treatment or by hypotonic cell swelling have been studied in Ehrlich ascites tumour cells by the patch-clamp technique. A charybdotoxin-inhibitable K+ current was activated by increasing intracellular Ca2+ concentration. In contrast, the K+ current activated by cell swelling was insensitive to charybdotoxin as well as to apamin, suggesting that channels different from those sensitive to Ca2+ are responsible for regulatory volume adjustments in these cells. The magnitude of the K+ and Cl- currents activated by hypotonic challenge was markedly temperature-dependent, possibly reflecting the temperature-dependence of enzymes involved in the intracellular signalling of cell volume regulation.