K fluxes in frog skin

Abstract

A method has been developed for measuring K influx into the epithelial cells of frog skin from the inside solution. Diffusion delay in the connective tissue has been taken into account. Ninety-four per cent of skin K was found to exchange with K(42) in the inside solution with a single time constant. K influx showed saturation with increasing K concentration, was not altered by imposing a potential difference of +/-200 mv across the skin, and was inhibited by dinitrophenol, fluoroacetate, and ouabain. Relatively low concentrations of dinitrophenol (5 x 10(-5)M) and fluoroacetate (10(-10)M) had no effect on k influx but caused a 40 per cent decrease in net Na flux. There was no correlation between the rate of K uptake at the "inner barrier" and the rate of net Na transport. Reduction of net Na transport by lowering Na concentration in the outside solution caused little change in K uptake. These observations indicate that there is not a significant Na-K exchange involved in active transport of Na across the skin. K influx was found, however, to require Na in the inside bathing solution.