Table 1 Vacuolation in low-chloride buffers compared to the high-sodium buffer with normal chloride content.

From: Delayed vacuolation in mammalian cells caused by hypotonicity and ion loss

Buffer

Experiments/Total cells

V1

V5

V2µm

High-NaCl (control)

4/205

48 ± 5

24 ± 6

6 ± 4

Nitrate

5/299

85 ± 3**

73 ± 6**

35 ± 17*

Methyl sulfate

5/238

82 ± 11**

64 ± 9**

29 ± 15*

Aspartate

4/180

67 ± 11*

30 ± 10

15 ± 10

Gluconate

4/200

66 ± 11

46 ± 12*

35 ± 11**

  1. 3T3 cells were exposed to the listed buffers for 6 h at 37 °C and analyzed by phase contrast imaging. The averages and standard deviations are shown. V1, V5, percent of cells with ≥ 1 and ≥ 5 clearly visible vacuole(s), respectively; V2µm, the percent of cells containing at least one vacuole with a diameter of > 2 µm. Asterisks indicate statistical significance: * for 0.005 < p < 0.05, and ** for p < 0.005, by unpaired two-tailed t-test.
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