PAH transport in rock crab urinary bladder. II. Luminal and serosal steps

To characterize the organic anion transport properties of the luminal (1) and serosal (s) membranes of crab urinary bladder, initial (10 min) fluxes (J) and tissue accumulations (Ac) of 10 microM PAH were measured in the absence and presence of 1 mM BCG (nontransported, high-affinity competitor). Control bladders exhibited net reabsorptive transport with a mean Jl leads to s/Js leads to 1 of about 7; concentrative transport of p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) occurred only across the luminal cell (c) membrane. With luminal PAH, luminal bromocresol green (BCG) reduced Jl leads to c, Jc leads to s, and Ac by about 85%; serosal BCG reduced Jc leads to s, increased Ac but had no effect on Jl leads to c. With serosal PAH, serosal BCG reduced Js leads to c, Jc leads to l, and Ac; luminal BCG had no effects on either fluxes or tissue accumulation. When bladder sheets were loaded with radiolabeled PAH, mounted in a chamber, and exposed to flowing crab Ringer solution on both sides, Jc leads to s was nearly twice as large as Jc leads to l; BCG significantly reduced Jc leads to s but not Jc leads to l. With unlabeled PAH in the efflux media, Jc leads to s was increased. The data are consistent with a model featuring an inwardly directed pump at the luminal membrane, a facilitated carrier at the serosal membrane, and nonmediated pathways at both membranes.