Sodium-proton exchange in colon brush-border membranes

Apical membrane vesicles were prepared from proximal and distal segments of the large intestine of the rat by a method based on morphological criteria and were used to determine 22Na uptake. In both preparations an outwardly directed proton gradient stimulated 22Na uptake. In proximal colon a decrease in vesicular volume induced by an increased media osmolarity led to diminished 22Na uptake at 90 min; a significant (50-60%) portion of uptake represented binding. Initial uptake was linear for 10 s and extrapolated through zero, indicating minimal extravesicular binding. Initial uptake was a saturable function of medium Na concentration. In both preparations initial influx of 0.1 mM NaCl was inhibited by amiloride (0.1-1.0 mM), 15 mM NaCl, 15 mM LiCl, and 15 mM NH4Cl. From the characteristics of the initial 22Na influx we conclude that the apical membrane from colonocytes of proximal and distal segments contains a Na-H exchange with properties similar to those described in other epithelia.