Volume of cell and mass of protein in thymocyte (assuming protein concentration of 200 g/l)

Range volume 250µm^3: protein mass 50pg
Organism Unspecified
Reference Wiśniewski JR, Hein MY, Cox J, Mann M. A "proteomic ruler" for protein copy number and concentration estimation without spike-in standards. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2014 Dec13(12):3497-506. doi: 10.1074/mcp.M113.037309. p.3502 right column top paragraphPubMed ID25225357
Primary Source [35] Salinas F. A., Smith L. H., Goodman J. W. (1972) Cell size distribution in the thymus as a function of age. J. Cell. Physiol. 80, 339–345 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1040800304PubMed ID4648089
Comments P.3502 left column bottom paragraph: "The total cellular protein concentration typically lies within a range of 20% to 30% (w/v) (i.e. 200 to 300 g/l, BNID 113242) in many cell types and organisms (ref 33). This constraint can be used to convert between cellular protein mass and cell volume. Hepatocytes, the predominant cell type in liver, are roughly cubical cells with a 15-μm edge length (BNID 113236). Assuming a total protein concentration of 200 g/l, this translates to 675 pg of protein per cell [BNID 113237]. This compares to [investigators'] estimate of 464 ± 35 pg total protein per average liver cell, which is reasonable given that non-hepatocytes contribute the same amount of DNA or histones but less overall protein mass. Thymocytes are at the other end of the size scale with an average volume of 250 μm^3 (primary source). This translates to 50 pg of protein, as compared with [their] estimate of 59 ± 31 pg."
Entered by Uri M
ID 113238