Other Chloride-Transporting Epithelia
摘要
This chapter discusses the transport of chloride in other epithelia. The thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle reabsorbs chloride via a process depending on the four transport proteins, NaKATPase, NKCC, potassium channel, and chloride conductances CLC-Ka and CLC-Kb. The change in the vectorial movement of chloride is the result of the localization to different membranes of the transport proteins. Chloride secretion in the gastrointestinal tract involves the same proteins. Additional pathways, such as the guanylate cyclase and calcium-gated chloride channel pathways, also contribute. The airway epithelia secrete sodium and chloride through secretory cells and reabsorbs them via the ionocyte through transporters that include ENaC and small chloride channels. In the sweat gland, transepithelial transport occurs in two stages: secretion in the coil where transport is similar to that in the rectal gland with the addition of TMEM16a and Bestrophin 2 and reabsorption in the duct through ENaC for sodium and CFTR for chloride. NaKATPase activity in the chloride cells of teleost gills is crucial for sodium and chloride secretion and is entirely similar to that of the rectal gland. As in the rectal gland, the process is regulated by hormones like cortisol and prolactin.