Activation energy for water diffusion across the toad bladder: evidence against the pore enlargement hypothesis.

The activation energy (E(A)) for the diffusion of water across the epithelial cell layer of the toad bladder was determined in the absence and presence of vasopressin. An experimental approach was employed which minimized the effects of unstirred layers and the thick supporting layer of the bladder on the measurement of water diffusion. E(A) in the absence of vasopressin was 11.7 +/-1.4 kcal.mole(-1); after vasopressin it was 10.6+/-1.1 kcal.mole(-1). The difference between the two values was not significant. The results are consistent with an increase in the number rather than the size of aqueous channels in the cell membrane, a finding which differs from the generally held view that the hormone increases the radius of pores in the membrane.