The excessive cosolute densities in the intracellular fluid create a physicochemical condition called macromolecular crowding (MMC). Intracellular MMC entropically maintains the biochemical thermodynamic equilibria by favouring associative reactions while hindering transport processes. Rapid cell volume shrinkage during extracellular hypertonicity elevates the MMC and disrupts the equilibria, potentially ushering cell death. Consequently, cells actively counter the hypertonic stress through regulatory volume increase (RVI) and restore the MMC homeostasis. Here, we establish fluorescence anisotropy of EGFP as a reliable tool for studying cellular MMC and explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of MMC during cell volume instabilities under multiple conditions. Our studies reveal that the actin cytoskeleton enforces spatially varying MMC levels inside adhered cells. Within cell populations, MMC is uncorrelated with nuclear DNA content but anti-correlated with the cell spread area. Although different cell lines have statistically similar MMC distributions, their responses to extracellular hypertonicity vary. The intensity of the extracellular hypertonicity determines a cell's ability for RVI, which correlates with Nuclear Factor Kappa Beta (NFkB) activation. Pharmacological inhibition and knockdown experiments reveal that Tumour Necrosis Factor Receptor 1 (TNFR1) initiates the hypertonicity induced NFkB signalling and RVI. At severe hypertonicities, the elevated MMC amplifies cytoplasmic microviscosity and hinders Receptor Interacting Protein Kinase 1 (RIPK1) recruitment at the TNFR1 complex, incapacitating the TNFR1-NFkB signalling and consequently, RVI. Together, our studies unveil the involvement of TNFR1-NFkB signalling in modulating RVI and demonstrate the pivotal role of MMC in determining cellular osmoadaptability.

Arpin was discovered as an inhibitor of the Arp2/3 complex localized at the lamellipodial tip of fibroblasts, where it regulated migration steering. Recently, we showed that arpin stabilizes the epithelial barrier in an Arp2/3-dependent manner. However, the expression and functions of arpin in endothelial cells (EC) have not yet been described. Arpin mRNA and protein are expressed in EC and downregulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Arpin depletion in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells causes the formation of actomyosin stress fibers leading to increased permeability in an Arp2/3-independent manner. Instead, inhibitors of ROCK1 and ZIPK, kinases involved in the generation of stress fibers, normalize the loss-of-arpin effects on actin filaments and permeability. Arpin-deficient mice are viable but show a characteristic vascular phenotype in the lung including edema, microhemorrhage, and vascular congestion, increased F-actin levels, and vascular permeability. Our data show that, apart from being an Arp2/3 inhibitor, arpin is also a regulator of actomyosin contractility and endothelial barrier integrity.