Stoichiometry of sodium chloride transport by rectal gland of Squalus acanthias

Abstract

The stoichiometry of the sodium chloride cotransport system was examined in isolated perfused rectal glands of Squalus acanthias by kinetic analysis of the effect on chloride secretion of progressive substitutions of other ions for sodium and chloride in the perfusate. Secretion was stimulated by a constant infusion of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (5 X 10(-5) M) and theophylline (2.5 X 10(-4) M). Sodium was replaced by N-methyl-D-glucamine, whereas chloride was replaced by gluconate. The Km values for sodium, obtained using three different graphic methods, were close to or at the normal concentration of sodium in the plasma of the shark, suggesting that plasma sodium concentration regulates transport by the gland. The Km values for chloride were far below the normal concentration of chloride in the plasma, indicating that the chloride sites are normally saturated and therefore plasma chloride concentration cannot control transport by the gland. Hill plots revealed slopes of 1.06 for sodium and 1.6 for chloride, consistent with the hypothesis that 2 Cl- and 1 Na+ interact in the cotransport process. The cotransport linkage of 2 Cl- with 1 Na+ in the initial step of entry into the cell can be viewed as a device that doubles the energetic efficiency of salt transport, allowing 2 NaCl to be secreted for every 1 Na+ actively pumped.