Effect of hypermagnesemia on rat jejunal sodium and water transport

Hypermagnesemia decreases sodium and water reabsorption in the rat renal proximal tubule. To further understand this action, the effect of hypermagnesemia on sodium and water transport in the in vivo perfused rat jejunum was studied. The rat jejunum was chosen as another transporting epithelial tissue in the same species with unidirectional sodium flux characteristics similar to the rat renal proximal tubule, i.e., leaky as opposed to tight. Hypermagnesemia decreased net jejunal sodium and water reabsorption. This decrease was due to a reduction in unidirectional sodium efflux from lumen to blood and not to an increase in unidirectional sodium influx from blood to lumen. Hypermagnesemia did not change the jejunal permeability to inulin. The effect of hypermagnesemia on jejunal sodium and water transport is similar to that renal proximal tubule sodium and water transport. This similarity suggests that the mechanism of action of magnesium of these two transporting epithelial tissues is similar.