No abstract

Studies were carried out on the isolated urinary bladder of the toad, Bufo marinus, in order to explain the dependence of active sodium transport on the presence of potassium in the serosal medium. Attempts to obtain evidence for coupled sodium-potassium transport by the serosal pump were unsuccessful; no relation between sodium transport and uptake of K a from the serosal medium was demonstrable. Rather, the predominant effect of serosal potassium appeared to be operative at the mucosal permeability barrier, influencing the permeability of this surface to sodium. The mucosal effects of serosal potassium were correlated with effects on cellular cation content. When sodium Ringer's solution was used as serosal medium, removal of potassium resulted in significant decrease in tissue potassium content, commensurate increase in tissue sodium content, and marked depression of mucosal permeability and sodium transport. When choline replaced sodium in the serosal medium, removal of potassium resulted in only slight alterations of tissue electrolyte content, and effects on mucosal permeability and sodium transport were minimal.

Precise evaluation of permeability of biological tissues is often prevented by imprecise knowledge of operative forces. This problem has been approached by analysis of fluxes of isotopic species applied to opposite surfaces of a membrane. A simple and rather general flux ratio equation has been derived which may permit evaluation of membrane permeability, even without knowledge of forces, or of the nature of active transport processes. Permeability as thus defined should be insensitive to coupled flows, either of other species or of metabolism. In appropriate circumstances application of the equation may permit evaluation of the contributions of the various processes to the transport of the examined species. Composite series membranes would be expected to obey the unmodified general equation. Heterogeneous parallel pathways would alter the relation in a predictable manner. The effect of isotope interaction is specifically incorporated. The formulation is applied to consideration of energetics of active transport.