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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis
Published on: February 19, 2018
Cellular volume homeostasis
1Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. kevin.strange@vanderbilt.edu
Abstract:
All cells face constant challenges to their volume either through changes in intracellular solute content or extracellular osmolality. Cells respond to volume perturbations by activating membrane transport and/or metabolic processes that result in net solute loss or gain and return of cell volume to its normal resting state. This paper provides a brief overview of fundamental concepts of osmotic water flow across cell membranes, mechanisms of cell volume perturbation, the role of inorganic ions and organic osmolytes in cell volume regulation and the signaling mechanisms that regulate the activity of cell volume-sensitive transport and metabolic pathways.
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