Pressure Effects on Cells

Animals exhibit a variety of behavioural and physiological changes as a result of exposure to both constant raised pressure and to changes in pressure. Furthermore, having manifested changes at pressure animals frequently show some adaptation, either in terms of the frequency of signs of change or in the magnitude of the changes. There are many elements within cells that may exhibit sensitivity to changes in ambient pressure including the cell membrane, ion channels located in the plasma membrane, neurotransmitter receptors, ion transporters and pumps and the cellular cytoskeleton. Phosphatidylcholines are the major membrane component in eukaryotic organisms and vital components of human lung surfactant and serum lipids. Multisubunit or polymeric proteins are usually dissociated by high pressure, although the pressure sensitivity varies between different proteins and even, apparently, for the same protein in different species. Cytoskeletal proteins such as f-actin, tubulin and various ‘intermediate filaments’ stabilize the morphology of cells.