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K R Spring

Publications and source records attributed to K R Spring.

79 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1972

Sodium flux in Necturus proximal tubule under voltage clamp.

Na transport and electrical properties of Necturus renal proximal tubules were analyzed, in vivo, by a voltage clamp method which utilizes an axial electrode in the tubule lumen for passage of current and simultaneous determination of net fluid (or Na) flux by the split droplet method. When the average spontaneous transepithelial potential difference of -8 mv (lumen negative) was reduced to zero by current passage, net Na flux doubled from a mean of 107 to 227 pmoles/cm(2) per sec. The relationship between flux and potential over the range -25 to +10 mv was nonlinear, with flux equilibrium at -15 mv and droplet expansion at more negative values. Calculated Na permeability at flux equilibrium was 7.0 x 10(-6) cm/sec. Voltage transients, similar to those caused by intraepithelial unstirred layers, were observed at the end of clamping periods. Tubular electrical resistance measured by brief square or triangle wave pulses (<100 msec) averaged 43 ohm cm(2). The epithelial current-voltage relationship was linear over the range -100 to +100 mv, but displayed marked hysteresis during low frequency (<0.04 Hz) triangle wave clamps. The low transepithelial resistance and large opposing unidirectional ion fluxes suggest that passive ionic movements occur across extracellular shunt pathways, while the voltage transients and current-voltage hysteresis are consistent with the development of a local osmotic gradient within epithelium.

Animals↗
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Salt and water transport by epithelial cells.

Epithelial cell volume is a sensitive indicator of the balance between solute entry into the cell and solute exit. Solute accumulation in the cell leads to cellular swelling because the water permeability of the cell membranes is high. Similarly, solute depletion leads to cellular shrinkage. The rate of volume change under a variety of experimental conditions may be utilized to study the rate and direction of solute transport by an epithelial cell. The pathways of water movement across an epithelium may also be deduced from the changes in cellular volume. A technique for the measurement of the volume of living epithelial cells is described and a number of experiments are discussed in which cellular volume determinations provided significant new information about the dynamic behavior of epithelia.

Animals↗