Release of 86Rb from rat submandibular gland slices: relation to sodium pump activity

Slices of rat submandibular gland were preloaded with 86Rb, an isotope that can substitute for K+ in the K+ release process. The efflux of 86Rb was monitored in a superfusion apparatus that efficiently removed the 86Rb as it exited from the tissue slices. Carbachol and the calcium ionophore A23187 activated a calcium-dependent increase in 86Rb efflux. Dibutyryl cGMP had no detectable effect on 86Rb efflux in contrast to its activation of ouabain-sensitive uptake of 86Rb observed in an earlier study. The stimulated release of 86Rb was not dependent on the presence of either sodium or chloride ions. When 86Rb efflux was stimulated by carbachol, the efflux rate returned toward the basal rate after a few minutes of exposure to carbachol in the medium. If ouabain was then introduced into the superfusate, a large increase in efflux was stimulated. In the absence of carbachol, only a small increase in 86Rb efflux was stimulated by ouabain. The effect of ouabain indicates that there was a substantial recycling of 86Rb between the release and uptake processes in the extracellular space of the tissue slice. The significance of this observation is discussed.