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Abstract

Electrophysiological experiments were performed on Necturus gallbladder to determine whether the main route of passive ion flow was via the cells or via a paracellular shunt path. In the first approach the following values were determined: the transepithelial resistance, the ratio of the voltage deflections across the luminal and basal cell membrane during transepithelial current flow, and the voltage spread within the epithelial cell layer during intracellular application of current pulses. From these data the luminal and basal cell membrane resistances were calculated to be 4,500 and 2,900 Ωcm², respectively, whereas the transepithelial resistance was only 310 Ωcm², indicating that approximately 96% of the transepithelial current bypassed the cells. This result was confirmed in a second approach, in which the intracellular voltage deflections were found to remain approximately constant, when the current pulses were passed from a cell into the interstitial compartment with the luminal compartment being empty or when they were passed from the cell into both external compartments simultaneously. In the third approach current was passed through the epithelium and a voltage-scanning microelectrode was moved across the surface of the epithelium to explore the induced electrical field. Significant distortions of the field were observed in the immediate vicinity of the cell borders. This result indicated that the paracellular shunt, which carries the main part of the transepithelial current, leads through the terminal bars and that the terminal bars or “tight” junctions arenot tight for transepithelial movement of small ions in gallbladder epithelium.