Turtle urinary bladder: regulation of ion transport by dynamic changes in plasma membrane area

Abstract

Turtle urinary bladder possesses four ion transport processes: Na+ absorption, H+ secretion, and HCO3- secretion-Cl- absorption. Each transport process is performed by a specific epithelial cell type. Granular cells absorb Na+ but they are not sensitive to antidiuretic hormone (ADH), unlike toad bladder granular cells. alpha-Carbonic anhydrase-rich (CA) cells secrete H+ via an apical H+-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase). Under conditions of low CO2 tension, this active pump is contained in the limiting membranes of certain cytoplasmic vesicles. The vesicles fuse with the apical membrane, and H+ pumps are incorporated into that membrane, as physiological conditions demand increased H+ secretion. The stimulus for fusion of these vesicles with the apical membrane appears to be intracellular acidification. beta-CA cells secrete HCO3- and reabsorb Cl-, both processes driven by H+-ATPase in the basolateral membrane in series with an apical Cl- -HCO3- exchanger. Increased intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate concentration in beta-cells stimulates net HCO3- secretion and induces an electrogenic component of this flux by activating an apical Cl- channel. This activation accompanies the fusion of an intracellular tubulovesicular network with the apical membrane. The membrane of this network may contain Cl- channels.