Sodium transport by lamb proximal colon measured during early postnatal development

Abstract

SUMMARYProximal colons taken from lambs up to 3 weeks after birth were shown to transport both sodium and chloride from lumen to blood when incubated in vitro.Sodium transport fell into three phases during postnatal development. The first covered the period from birth to 3 days of age when sodium transport was high and equal to that calculated from measurement of short-circuit current. The second was seen in 5- and 7-day-old lambs where the short-circuit current was low and the net transport of sodium was negligible. The third was seen in 2-3-week-old lambs where sodium transport was high, but the short-circuit current was low.Chloride absorption by colons taken from 1-day-old lambs appeared to be in exchange for an anion, possibly bicarbonate. Chloride absorption by colons taken from 3-week-old lambs appeared to be electrogenie or coupled directly to the transport of sodium.A possible explanation for the failure of electrolyte absorption by colons taken from 5- and 7-day-old lambs is discussed.