Influence of saline infusions on transvascular protein transport

Anesthetized rabbits were given an intravenous infusion of saline over a 1-h period to increase transvascular protein transport in skin and skeletal muscle. The infusion rate was adjusted to rapidly decrease the plasma concentration of total protein without increasing mean arterial blood pressure or the venous pressure in the leg. The 1-h clearance for radiolabeled albumin and a set of charge-modified albumins was measured in the heel skin and the gastrocnemius muscle. For both skin and skeletal muscle, the clearance for native albumin during the saline infusion was twice the value for control. The increase in clearance for the most neutral protein was greater than that for native albumin, suggesting that transvascular fluid movement was through a pathway which excludes native albumin. The clearance for cationic albumin increased slightly in skin and did not change in skeletal muscle, indicating that transport of the cationic protein through this pathway is predominantly diffusion. The data were consistent with a two-pore model for transvascular transport of water and proteins and with the increase in water transport through the small pores during the saline infusion.