Volume regulation initiated by Na(+)-nutrient cotransport in isolated mammalian villus enterocytes

We assessed ion transport during regulatory volume decrease (RVD) in jejunal villus enterocytes, isolated in suspension from guinea pig jejunum and swollen by exposure to L-alanine (L-Ala) or D-glucose (D-Glc) in the presence of Na+. Cell volume was measured electronically. Relative volume of cells (rel vol: cell vol/isotonic vol) within 1 min of L-Ala (20 mM) addition increased (1.10 +/- 0.03, P less than 0.005), but by 5 min there was no difference between cells in L-Ala or 20 mM D-Ala (0.95 +/- 0.02). Cell shrinkage after maximal swelling was greater with L-Ala than with D-Ala (14 +/- 4 vs. 2 +/- 1%, P less than 0.01). Initial swelling generated by L-Ala required extracellular Na+ (P less than 0.02). Volume increased 30 s after D-Glc (20 mM), and cells were larger than cells treated with L-Glc (1.04 +/- 0.01 vs. 0.95 +/- 0.01, P less than 0.001); subsequent cell shrinkage was complete in 2 min (8 +/- 2%, P less than 0.05). Swelling generated by methyl alpha-D-glucoside was prevented by 0.1 mM phloridzin (P less than 0.05). RVD after D-Glc swelling was prevented by inhibitors of K+ channels, 5 mM Ba2+ (P less than 0.001), 100 microM quinine (P less than 0.005), or 25 mM TEA (P less than 0.02), but the same inhibitors completely prevented L-Ala swelling. All inhibitors had no effect on L-Ala uptake into brush-border membrane vesicles in presence of Na+ gradient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)