A thermodynamic analysis of the correlation between active Na⁺ transport and the rate of oxygen consumption in epithelia

Summary

Active transport in epithelia is discussed in terms of the relationships between oxygen consumption and sodium flux as affected by each of the two corresponding thermodynamic forces. Analysis is presented of the use of nonequilibrium thermodynamics as a tool in elucidating coupling and stoichiometry, and in evaluating drug action in the system. The analysis leads to the quantitative characterization of active transport in “two-flow” systems in terms of two plots: oxygen consumption and sodium flow, each as a function of electrical potential difference, at constant affinity and constant concentrations. The relevant characteristic parameters are then shown to be represented by the slopes and intercepts of the two plots, the ratios of the slopes and of the intercepts, and by the difference—as well as the ratio—of the ratios. Distinction is made between experimental conditions in which the phenomenological coefficients remain constant and those in which these coefficients undergo appreciable changes. In terms of the above analysis, an examination is made of the effect of commonly used drugs. It is shown that while drugs may affect both the affinity and the phenomenological coefficients, they invariably affect the latter—at least in the cases hitherto reported.