Physiological roles of chloride ions in bodily and cellular functions.

Physiological roles of Cl - , a major anion in the body, are not well known compared with those of cations. This review article introduces: (1) roles of Cl - in bodily and cellular functions; (2) the range of cytosolic Cl - concentration ([Cl - ] c ); (3) whether [Cl - ] c could change with cell volume change under an isosmotic condition; (4) whether [Cl - ] c could change under conditions where multiple Cl - transporters and channels contribute to Cl - influx and efflux in an isosmotic state; (5) whether the change in [Cl - ] c could be large enough to act as signals; (6) effects of Cl - on cytoskeletal tubulin polymerization through inhibition of GTPase activity and tubulin polymerization-dependent biological activity; (7) roles of cytosolic Cl - in cell proliferation; (8) Cl - -regulatory mechanisms of ciliary motility; (9) roles of Cl - in sweet/umami taste receptors; (10) Cl - -regulatory mechanisms of with-no-lysine kinase (WNK); (11) roles of Cl - in regulation of epithelial Na +  transport; (12) relationship between roles of Cl - and H + in body functions.