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Recycling ofd-glucose in collagenous cuticle: A means of nutrient conservation?

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Summary

Transport by an epithelium, possessing an accumulating, saturable transport system in the apical membrane as well as a finite Fick permeability to the transported solute, was considered in the steady state in the case of zerocis concentration, and in the presence of a peripheral diffusion resistance in a layer apposing thecis face of the tissue (unstirred solution or structural coating). Under suitable conditions, the combination of peripheral diffusion resistance and accumulating epithelial transport may lead to recycling of solute at thecis face of the epithelium. This causes a decrease of the effective permeability to diffusionaltrans-cis flow across the tissue. The phenomenon is discussed in terms of epidermald-glucose transport by the integument of aquatic animals with a collagenous cuticle, such as the seawater-acclimated polychaete wormNereis diversicolor. The recycling phenomenon may be of significance to other epithelia with the function of maintaining large concentration gradients of permeating substances.

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Abbreviations

C m :

Bulk medium solute concentration,cis face of epidermisC m=0 mol cm−3

C i :

Concentration of solute at interface between cuticle and unstirred medium (mol cm−3)

C s :

Concentration of solute atcis face of apical epidermal membrane (mol cm−3)

C e :

Concentration of solute in extracellular fluid,trans-side of epidermisC e=1.0×10−6 mol cm−3

D m :

Diffusion coefficient of solute in outside mediumD m=6.7×10−6 cm2 sec−1

D c :

Diffusion coefficient of solute in cuticleD c=7.4×10−9 cm2 sec−1

δ m :

Operative thickness of unstirred medium layer

δ c :

Thickness of cuticle

J :

Steady-state net flux of solute through cuticle or unstirred layer (flux is positive indirectioncis-trans) (mol cm−2 sec−1)

J max i :

Maximal influx through saturable transport system in apical membraneJ max i =2.0×10−12 mol cm−2 sec−1

K t :

Transport constant, saturable systemK t=1.0×10−7 mol cm−3

P :

Epithelial permeability (cm sec−1)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. August Krogh Institute, Zoophysiological Laboratory A, University of Copenhagen, 13 Universitetsparken, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

    Jørgen Gomme

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  1. Jørgen Gomme
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Gomme, J. Recycling ofd-glucose in collagenous cuticle: A means of nutrient conservation?. J. Membrain Biol. 62, 47–52 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01870198

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01870198

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