Complex Response of Epithelial Cells to Inhibition of Na(+) Transport by Amiloride

Abstract

When toad urinary bladder or frog skin epithelia are treated with amiloride, short-circuit current (I sub sc), which represents the net active transepithelial sodium cation transport rate from the apical to basolateral surface, decreases rapidly(2-5) to approx. 15-20% of control values and then slowly, over several minutes, continues falling toward zero. The contribution of this second phase of the decline is dependent on the transporting condition of the tissue before administration of amiloride. Attenuation of the second phase was observed if tissues were subjected to a period of transport inhibition. Tissues preincubated in O Na(+) Ringer solution on the apical surface were returned to control Na(+) Ringer, which caused an approx. 25% increase of I sub sc above control values. Immediate reapplication of amiloride caused I sub sc to decrease more rapidly than the previous exposure to values near zero, substantially reducing or eliminating the secondary slow decline. After long- term reincubation of tissues in control, 100 mM Na(+) solution, another treatment with amiloride indicated that the magnitude of the secondary decline increased in frog skin but not in urinary bladder epithelia. We conclude that the effects of amiloride is complex and may cause additional effects besides simply blocking entry of Na+ into the apical membrane channel, and we suggest that regulatory mechanisms may be invoked in response to transport inhibition. Keywords: Electrophysiology; Cytoskeleton; Short-circuit current, Ion channels, Reprints.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA200832

Entities

People

  • Jerry W. Lockard
  • Richard S. Fisher

Organizations

  • Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Alkaloids
  • Cell Membrane
  • Cells
  • Circuits
  • Epithelial Cells
  • Epithelium
  • Inhibition
  • Inhibitors
  • Materials
  • Membranes
  • Observation
  • Reversible
  • Short Circuits
  • Steady State
  • Tissues
  • Urinary Tract

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

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