Aldosterone-induced, amiloride-inhibitable short-circuit current in the avian ileum.

Transmural electrical potential difference, short-circuit current (Isc), and resistance were measured in vitro in the intestines of chickens. In birds maintained on a low-Na diet, there was a rise in Isc in the ileum and the colon but not in the duodenum or jejunum. A substantial portion of this Isc could be inhibited by the Na channel-blocking drug, amiloride. The low-Na diet results in elevated plasma levels of aldosterone and the effects of the diet on intestinal transport could be mimicked by administration of this hormone. The time course of the effects of these two treatments on the ileum and colon were quite different, as a much longer exposure was needed to elicit maximal effects in the ileum than in the colon, possibly due to the presence of two types of adaptation mechanisms. The responses observed may reflect an adaptation of mechanisms for increasing Na transport from the intestine. The presence of such a mechanism in the vertebrate ileum has until recently been in doubt.