The effects of cortisone, deoxycorticosterone and other steroids on the active transport of sodium and potassium ions in yeast

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Abstract
Na ions accumulated by the yeast cell during fermentation in a medium containing a high concn. of Na can be actively excreted into a medium containing K ions with which the Na ions exchange. In the absence of external K, Na is excreted much more slowly with an accompanying anion. Of 8 crystalline steroids (cortisone, deoxycorticosterone,progesterone, estrone, methylandrostenediol, dehydroepiandrosterone and 17-hydroxycorticosterone) in-vestigated for a possible effect on such Na and K exchanges in yeast cells, as well as on active K uptake during fermentation only 3 (deoxycorticosterone, cortisone and 17-hydroxycorticosterone) showed significant effects; deoxycorticosterone showed the most pronounced effect, namely an inhibitory action on active transport of Na and K; cortisone showed a slight inhibiting action whereas 17-hydroxycorticosterone had a small stimulating effect on active transport. Deoxycorticosterone does not inhibit appreciably active excretion of Na from yeast suspended in tap water and it is con-cluded that its marked effect on Na excretion into a soln. con-taining 0.1 [image].-KC1 is on the K-carrier mechanism which has been interpreted in terms of a "redox pump" (Conway, 1951, 1952b, 1953).