Abstract
Previous in vivo studies in rat and man indicate that chronic renal insufficiency leads to an increase in the capacity of the large intestine for K secretion. The present studies were performed in isolated rat distal colon with conventional and K-sensitive microelectrodes to determine the cellular basis for enhanced colonic K secretion after 70% nephrectomy. The data revealed that in animals fed a regular diet, nephrectomy had no effect on the Na or K conductance of the apical membrane, or the kinetics of the basolateral membrane Na-K pump, but intracellular K activity decreased from 70±4 mmol/l to 58±4 mmol/l (P<0.005). In control (non-nephrectomised) animals, feeding a diet modestly (4-fold) enriched with K resulted in small but significant increases in the Na and K conductance of the apical membrane, no change in the kinetics of the basolateral membrane Na-K pump, and a rise in intracellular K activity from 70±4 mmol/l to 94±7 mmol/l (P<0.005). In contrast, in animals fed the K enriched diet, nephrectomy resulted in (i) large, amiloride-sensitive increases in transepithelial voltage and total tissue conductance (consistent with an appreciable degree of secondary hyperaldosteronism), (ii) marked increases in the Na and K conductance of the apical membrane, (iii) significant hyperpolarisation of the basolateral membrane, (iv) a 100% increase (P<0.02) in the maximum activity of the basolateral membrane Na-K pump, and (v) a rise in intracellular K activity from 94±7 mmol/l to 129±7 mmol/l (P<0.0025). These data suggest that the combination of modest dietary K enrichment and 70% nephrectomy stimulated an active K secretory process which reflected an increase in the K excretory load applied to the colonic mucosa, and the effects of aldosterone. In this model of renal insufficiency, enhanced K secretion by the transcellular and paracellular (potential-dependent) pathways results in a marked rise in the K excretory capacity of the colon.
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Sandle, G.I., McGlone, F. & Davies, R.J. Electrophysiology of rat distal colon after partial nephrectomy. Pflugers Arch. 412, 172–182 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583747
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583747