Potassium transport and nucleoside metabolism in human red cells.

1. A study has been made of active cation transport in relation to the metabolism of nucleosides and deoxynucleosides in human red blood cells.2. Lactate production from inosine depended on the cellular inorganic phosphate available for phosphorolysis and was raised to some 4 times the normal rate from glucose. Inosine inhibited glucose metabolism according to the amount of glucose-6-phosphate produced. Guanosine behaved similarly, but glucose-6-phosphate was not formed from adenosine, deoxyinosine and deoxyguanosine.3. Glucose metabolism was related to the ATP content of the cells, which was raised by incubation with adenosine, or with inosine plus adenine.4. Adenosine and deoxyadenosine raised the potassium influx above the values found with inosine and deoxyinosine under conditions when the lactate production was constant. Active potassium influx was correlated with the ATP concentration in the cells, but independent of the lactate production when the latter was raised above normal.