SEARCH FOR CELL VOLUME SENSORS: AN UPDATE

Abstract

Cell volume changes affect a plethora of cellular functions including macromolecular synthesis and catabolism, cell proliferation, differentiation and death. Because of these critical roles, cells regulate their volume with <1% accuracy via compensatory mechanisms termed regulatory volume increase and regulatory volume decrease. Our review focuses on recent advances in understanding the molecular origin of up-stream sensors triggering cellular responses to volume perturbations. The analysis demonstrates a major  role  of  cytoplasmic  hydrogel  as  well  as  the  crosstalk  of  polyphosphoinositides  and  twodimensional cytoskeleton (membrane carcass) in cell volume sensing