Transepithelial fluid shift generated by osmolarity gradients in unstimulated perfused rat submandibular glands.

The effects of osmotic gradients on transepithelial water movements were examined in unstimulated perfused submandibular glands of the rat. Osmotic gradients were applied transepithelially by adding sucrose to or removing it from the perfusate. An infusion of hypotonic perfusate shifted fluid from the interstitium to the lumen (luminal fluid shift) transiently, whereas an infusion of hypertonic perfusate shifted fluid from the lumen to the interstitium (interstitial fluid shift) transiently. The amount of fluid shifted from lumen to interstitium increased as the luminal fluid osmolarity was raised or as the perfusate osmolarity was reduced. Thus, fluid movements across the salivary epithelium were shown to be simply dependent on the osmolarity difference between lumen and interstitium. To estimate the effective pore radius of the epithelium, non-electrolyte solutions (urea, dimethylurea, diethylurea, mannitol, sucrose and maltotriose) were also used as luminal solutions. The results from non-electrolyte experiments showed that the effective pore radius of the passage for non-electrolytes was slightly larger than 0.38 nm. Solutes smaller than mannitol were less effective in opposing the interstitial fluid shift, and the value of effective pore radius in this report was similar to that of the secretory water pathway that has been measured in solvent drag studies (0.4 0.45 nm). These findings suggest that the passage for non-electrolytes may be water transport pathway in salivary epithelium.