A central role for cell osmolarity in isotonic fluid transport across epithelia

Previous theoretical models for solute-solvent coupling in epithelia that dealt only with the intercellular channel did not predict isotonic transport except when very high cell membrane permeabilities were assumed. To study this issue, we have developed the formalisms for osmotic equilibration at an alternative location, the apical cell membrane (including its adjacent unstirred layer), which are somewhat simpler than those for the channel. Much as in other models, we confirm that only rather unrealistically high values of the cell membrane permeability lead to isotonic transport. We have also found, however, that isotonic transport can occur at much lower values of the cell membrane permeability if the concentration within the cell differs slightly from that in the ambient medium. This emphasizes the importance of incorporating the intracellular concentration as an integral part to any transport model, such as in the present apical membrane version of local osmosis.