Sodium permeability and myocardial resistance to cell swelling during metabolic blockade

The role of cell membrane permeability to sodium in cell volume regulation during inhibition of the sodium-potassium exchange pump with ouabain and during total metabolic blockade was evaluated in sections of guinea pig renal cortex, ventricle, and atrium incubated in Krebs-Henseleit solution. In all tissues, 2 and 3 h of ouabain and metabolic blockade resulted in similar marked losses of potassium and parallel continuous reductions in resting membrane potentials. Only metabolic blockade of renal cortex increased cell water, chloride, and total monovalent cations (potassium plus sodium) significantly. Compared to ouabain, metabolic blockade markedly increased the rate of cellular washout of 24Na+ from renal cortex (t 1/2 reduced by 47%), which was significantly greater than reductions in t 1/2 from ventricle (16%) and atrium (15%). Thus, inhibition of sodium-potassium exchange pump activity was not sufficient to produce cell swelling unless associated with marked increases in cell membrane permeability to sodium, in which case sodium influx exceeded potassium loss and substantial increases in monovalent cations, chloride, and water occurred.