Journal article

Publication year: 1993

Pages: 216-223

Journal: Pflügers Archiv European Journal of Physiology

Volume number: 424

Issue number: 3-4

ISSN: 0031-6768

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384345

Publisher: Springer

Abstract: 
Superfusion of isolated crypts from the rat colon with sodium-butyrate-containing solutions induced an increase in the crypt diameter indicating a swelling of the crypt cells. The response to butyrate (50 mmol l-1) was not uniform along the crypt axis, the most pronounced swelling being observed in the upper third of the crypt. The butyrate effect was concentration-dependent and was completely suppressed by amiloride, suggesting that it is caused by activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger. Acetate, propionate and isobutyrate had a similar action. In HEPES-buffered solution the butyrate-induced change in cell volume was monophasic, i. e. only a swelling took place, whereas in HCO3- buffer it was biphasic, i. e. swelling was followed by a regulatory volume decrease. This decrease was suppressed by K+ and Cl- channel blockers as well as inhibitors of leukotriene synthesis. Measurements of intracellular pH with the fluorescent dye 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) revealed that butyrate induced an acidification of the cell, which was stronger in HEPES than in HCO3- buffer. Estimation of Na+/H+ exchange activity, tested as recovery of intracellular pH from an acid load via an NH4Cl prepulse, revealed a much lower Na+/H+ exchange activity in the fundus region compared to the upper third of the crypt. The smaller volume response evoked by butyrate in the fundus region probably reflects the smaller Na+/H+ activity compared to the more differentiated cells near the opening of the crypt. It is concluded that cell swelling caused by short-chain fatty acids is a physiological stimulus for volume regulation. This response is restricted to the more differentiated cells.

Harvard Citation style: Diener, M., Helmle-Kolb, C., Murer, H. and Scharrer, E. (1993) Effect of short-chain fatty acids on cell volume and intracellular pH in rat distal colon, Pflügers Archiv European Journal of Physiology, 424(3-4), pp. 216-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384345

APA Citation style: Diener, M., Helmle-Kolb, C., Murer, H., & Scharrer, E. (1993). Effect of short-chain fatty acids on cell volume and intracellular pH in rat distal colon. Pflügers Archiv European Journal of Physiology. 424(3-4), 216-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384345