Interstitial fluid from guinea‐pig muscle

Abstract

The environment of cells in animal tissues is believed to consist of the interstitial fluid, and though this has been much considered in physiological writings it has usually been studied only by indirect means. There have been few attempts to collect and analyse this fluid by direct methods. Maurer (1938) in W. 0. Fenn's laboratory passed capillary tubes into the muscles of frogs and obtained small quantities of fluid which contained a high protein content. Manery (1954) doubted whether this was interstitial fluid and suggested that the amount of fluid between the fibres was so low that collection was impracticable. She considered that the fluid collected by Maurer might have been oedema fluid induced by tissue damage during the passage of the capillary tubes into the muscles, and this objection remained unanswered.The question has been studied anew by the intravenous injection of labelled proteins at various times before collection of the interfibre fluid, and the results give some support for the view that it is interstitial fluid which has been collected in the present case. These studies have been made on mammalian muscle and the opportunity has also been taken to make an analysis of the proteins of the fluid. METHODSPreparation of capillary tube8. Capillary tubes were drawn by hand from clean heavywalled soda-glass tubing of 7-8 mm outside diameter, one end of each capillary tube being flamed to round off rough edges. Capillary tubes were boiled in distilled water, washed repeatedly in acetone and dried in an oven. The range of external diameters of the tubes, measured with a micrometer, was 0-27-0-50 mm.Collection of samples of fluid. Male guinea-pigs of 260-600 g wt. were anaesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone (Nembutal, Abbott Laboratories), the dose being 36 mg/kg given intraperitoneally. They were placed on a table whose temperature was maintained by a thermostat, and ether was given to deepen anaesthesia. The skin over the front of the thigh was reflected and any fat covering the quadriceps femoris muscle was removed. The surface of the muscle was wiped lightly with gauze to remove tissue fluid, and capillary tubes,

Protein Concentration and Colloid Osmotic Pressure of Rat Skeletal Muscle Interstitial Fluid

“…However, excess leakage from damaged capillaries seems unlikely as a reason for high nonalbumin protein in view of the relatively low albumin concentration, the fairly uniform composition of fluid from different wicks, and the lack of excess nonalbumin protein in subcutaneous wick fluid (Aukland and Fadnes 1973). Furthermore, a high "/]-globulin" fraction was observed in many samples obtained from guinea pig niuscle with glass capillaries by Creese et al (1962). The possibility that both methods could cause damage to muscle cells and release of intracellular proteins cannot be excluded.…”

Extravascular Albumin Mass and Exchange in Rat Tissues

“…The only attempt to measure albumin in interstitial fluid appears to be that of Creese, D'Silva & Shaw (1962). They obtained a few microlitres of interfibre fluid by micropuncture from muscles of guinea-pigs and estimate the albumin content to be half that in plasma.…”

Permeability of lung capillaries to macromolecules in foetal and new‐born lambs and sheep

“…We have assumed, as did Starling (1912) and Drinker & Yoffey (1941), that lymph and interstitial fluid have essentially the same composition. Estimates of average protein concentration in the interstitial fluid of man from protein isotope dilution measurements (Myant, 1951;Sterling, 1951) and of protein in interfibre fluid from guineapig muscle (Creese, D'Silva & Shaw, 1962), both give values similar to those in lymph. However, Landis & Pappenheimer (1963) consider that the protein concentration of interstitial fluid varies from low at the arterial end of a capillary where filtration occurs, to high at the venous end where liquid is reabsorbed.…”