[Bioelectric properties of excised rabbit nasal mucosa]

The water flow across the respiratory epithelia is an important determinant of the efficiency of mucociliary clearance. Bulk water flow has been shown to be coupled to net ion flux. We studied ion transport across rabbit nasal mucosa by measuring bioelectric properties using Ussing chambers. Results were summarized as follows. (1) Compared with tracheal mucosa, nasal mucosa exhibited lower potential difference (p less than 0.01), lower short-circuit current (p less than 0.05), and higher conductance (p less than 0.01). (2) Ouabain 10(-4)M inhibited short-circuit current when added to the submucosal bath of Ussing chambers, and amiloride decreased short-circuit current to about 40% when added to the mucosal bath. (3) When the bubbling of the solution was changed from 95%O2, 5%CO2 to 100%N2, short-circuit current remarkably decreased. (4) A significant positive correlation existed between temperature ranging from 33 degrees C to 41 degrees C and short-circuit current (r = 0.46, p less than 0.02).