Effects of luminal pH and luminal HCO3 on CI-HCO3 exchange across turtle urinary bladder

The Cl-HCO3 exchange rate across turtle urinary bladder was studied by measuring the net flux of 36Cl in paired tissues. Serosal bicarbonate concentration and pH were held constant (10 mM and 7.6, respectively) while luminal composition was altered. The rate of net chloride absorption was the same at a luminal pH of 5 or 7 and at luminal HCO-3 concentrations of 0 and 10 mM. These results indicate that the affinity of the exchanger for luminal Cl- is much higher than that for luminal HCO-3 or OH-. Vanadate, an inhibitor of a number of ATPases, had no significant effect on chloride absorption.