Active sodium transport by turtle colon via an electrogenic Na-K exchange pump

Active sodium absorption by a variety of epithelia is abolished by ouabain, but the obligatory coupling between the movement of sodium and potassium expected from a basolateral (Na⁺ + K⁺) ATPase has not been convincingly demonstrated¹. According to the model of Koefoed-Johnsen and Ussing², the asymmetric cation selectivities of the apical and basolateral membranes prevent basolateral Na-K exchange from being expressed as opposing transmural ion flows. An additional consequence of this asymmetry is that the short-circuit current (I_SC) cannot be identified with the current through the sodium-potassium pump. We used the polyene antibiotic, amphotericin-B, to reduce the resistance and the cation selectivity of the apical membrane of isolated turtle colon so that the basolateral membrane current could be dissected into two components: one through a barium-sensitive potassium channel and another which represents the current associated with ouabain-sensitive, electrogenic, Na-K exchange. Comparison of cation fluxes and short circuit current indicates that in these conditions active sodium absorption is entirely attributable to an electrogenic Na-K pump with a stoichiometry of approximately 3Na:2K.