I mean, not literally a single cell, but an intrapolated number from measuring, say, 1 billion cells of a common cell line such as HeLa or U2OS?
I have seen values for cell volume from 0.1 pl (erythrocyte) to 1pl (fibroblast in culture) to 5 pl (liver cell) to 10 pl (fibroblast). Mostly water, so density perhaps 1.05. I am sure there is a more useful answer out there, but that may enable you to start calculating.
Thanks a lot for your input. Assuming 1 pl and water, 1 billion cells would weigh about 1 mg, which is quite reasonable. By the way, are these numbers empirical data?
Pierre Courtoy, UCL-DDUV, Brussels, BE
Documented 1mg cell protein for 1 million (NOT TRILLION) cells
1 million cells is quite different from 1 billion (not to mention 1 trillion) cells. How did you reach that number, Pierre?
Counting various cells in my lab then measuring protein. For hydrated weight, multiply by roughly ten.
This ref gives volume of HeLa as ~1500 um^3. This is = 1.5 pl so 10^9 cells = 1.5 ml = 1.5g
http://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?&id=103725&ver=3
Dear commentators,
just to add the following values for volume of cells which I found in an old (ultrastructural related) Data Book*) :
- Volume of Plasmocytes (variously sized) in medullary cords of a mediastinal lymph node from a normal, ten week-old rat, after measurements of 443 random cells (SAINTE-MARIE, 1964):
Mean cellular volume (MCV in µm³):
depending on nuclear diameter range (NDR in µm):
NDR: 6.1 - 9.0: MCV 382 µm³
NDR: 5.1 - 6.0: MCV 268 µm³
NDR: 4.1 - 5.0: MCV 258 µm³
NDR: 3.0 - 4.0: MCV 212 µm³
Plasmocytes with cytoplasmic inclusions (measurement of 55 additional plasmocytes containing Russel’s bodies or crystals and which often are binucleated. On a total of 55 cells, 7 have a nuclear range varying between 4.5 and 6.0, and the remaining 48 cells between 3.0 and 4.5 µm.
NDR: 4.5 - 6.0: MCV 623 µm³
NDR: 3.0 - 4.5: MCV 490 µm³
- Volume of B-Cells of rat nucleus supraopticus (ENESTRÖM 1967):
Unoperated: 5814 +/- 507 µm³
Adrenalectomized, 4 days: 3779+/- 338 µm³
7 days: 7830+/- 752 µm³
12 days: 6946+/- 639 µm³
17-25 days, 2% NaCl: 6748+/- 656 µm³
12 days 2% NaCl + 27-33 days 1.5% NaCl: 4157+/- 694 µm³
15 days 2% NaCl + 3-14 days H2O: 4261+/- 911 µm³
References (*) from: DAVID Heinz(Ed) Quantitative Ultrastructural Data of Animal and Human Cells, G. Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart-New York 1977(ISBN 3-437-30275-2, p. 499, and 520, resp.):
ENESTRÖM S (1967): Nucleus supraopticus.A morphological and experimental study in the rat. Acta pathol. microbiol. scand. suppl. 186, 483-493
SAINTE-MARIE G (1964): Study on plamocytopoiesis. Am. J. Anat. 114,207-233.
Hopefully helpful anyway,
Best regards
Wolfgang MUSS, PhD
SALZBURG, AUSTRIA
PS to Mark CHANNELL: the URL you have posted:
http://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?&id=103725&ver=3 unfortunately – at least for me – is inaccessible (error: “You are about to leave ResearchGateand and we will redirected you to http://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?” ) (and therefore must be pasted into the/a web browser) to get the desired result page.
Also there has been a newer BioNumber meanwhile (interesting for me are the huge differences in measurements!)
(cf. http://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?&id=103725&ver=14 )
Thanks for this link
http://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?&id=103725&ver=3
Thanks to Dr. Krumschnabel, Innsbruck, Austria for your kind recommendation. and, for convenience only to inform about the newest version (=#20) of the HARVARD BioNumbers data base:
http://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?&id=103725&ver=20
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