Sodium channel heterogeneity in the apical membrane of porcine thyroid epithelial cells

Porcine thyroid epithelial cells cultured as a monolayer with their apical membranes facing the medium are known to absorb Na+ and secrete Cl-. Two types of Na+ channels were found in cell-attached patches of apical membrane. A low conductance Na+ channel (conductance g = 4 picosiemens (pS)) remained open for seconds and showed a high selectivity for Na+ compared with K+. In contrast, a high conductance Na+ channel (g = 10 pS) flickered rapidly and had reduced selectivity. Both types of Na+ channel became more prevalent when the cells were exposed to Na(+)-free medium, though only the high conductance channel increased in prevalence on addition of prostaglandin E2, a stimulator of adenylate cyclase which increases Na+ absorption in this cultured epithelium. Two minority types of channel were also found: a non-selective small conductance cation channel which had been reported previously, and an intermediate conductance channel found only in Na(+)-free medium. It was concluded that passage of Na+ across the apical membrane of thyroid cells is mediated by typical epithelial Na+ channels, but that the two types of channel are differentially regulated.