Fluid and electrolyte transport by cultured human airway epithelia

An understanding of the fluid and electrolyte transport properties of any epithelium requires knowledge of the direction, rate, and regulation of fluid transport and the composition of the fluid. Although human airway epithelial likely play a key role in controlling the quantity and composition of the respiratory tract fluid, evidence for such a role is not available. To obtain such knowledge, we measured fluid and electrolyte transport by cultured human nasal epithelia. Under basal conditions we found that epithelia absorbed Na+ and fluid; both processes were inhibited by addition of amiloride to the mucosal surface. These data suggest that active Na+ absorption is responsible for fluid absorption. Interestingly, Na+ absorption was not accompanied by the net absorption of Cl-; some other anion accompanied Na+. The combination of cAMP agonists and mucosal amiloride stimulated the secretion of NaCl-rich fluid. But surprisingly, the response to cAMP agonists in the absence of amiloride showed substantial intersubject variability: cAMP stimulated fluid secretion across some epithelia, for others, cAMP stimulated fluid absorption. The explanation for the differences in response is uncertain, but we speculate that the magnitude of apical membrane Na+ conductance may modulate the direction of fluid transport in response to cAMP. We also found that airway epithelial secrete H+ and absorb K+ under basal conditions; both processes were inhibited by cAMP agonists. Because the H+/K(+)-ATPase inhibitor, SCH 28080, inhibited K+ absorption, an apical membrane H+/K(+)-ATPase may be at least partly responsible for K+ and H+ transport. However, H+/K+ exchange could not entirely account for the luminal acidification. The finding that cAMP agonists inhibited luminal acidification may be explained by the recent finding that cAMP increases apical HCO3- conductance. These results provide new insights into how the intact airway epithelium may modify the composition of the respiratory tract fluid.