title: Ouabain-sensitive K+ uptake in submandibular salivary gland slices of rats of different post-natal ages.
abstract: Slices of submandibular glands of newborn and early post-natal rats took up K+ when incubated in vitro in an enriched, oxygenated Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution. This uptake of K+ was observed when the slices were transferred to K+-containing medium after pre-incubation in K+-free medium, when the previously stimulated cholinergic or alpha-adrenergic receptors were blocked with appropriate antagonists or when the Ca2+ in the medium was chelated with EGTA 2 min after stimulation with carbamylcholine. The extent of K+ uptake was larger in the youngest (1-day-old) animals in all these experiments. Uptake of K+ was inhibited by 1 mM ouabain. This inhibition was not immediate and varying rates of K+ uptake were observed for 2-5 min after addition of the glycoside. It is concluded that: (1) K+ uptake can be elicited in the developing submandibular glands of newborn and early post-natal rats; (2) this response is sensitive to ouabain and is likely to depend, therefore, on the presence of a Na+, K+ ATPase in the immature gland; (3) changes in ouabain-sensitive K+ uptake with age suggests that the activity of the Na, K ATPase varies as the gland matures in the immediate post-natal period. As the Na+, K+ ATPase is thought to provide a driving force for the transport of ions underlying salivary secretion, the findings suggest that this mechanism is present in the early stages of post-natal development of the rat submandibular gland.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D004533:Egtazic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D010042:Ouabain / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011941:Receptors, Adrenergic / Q000187:drug effects; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000187:drug effects; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000378:metabolism; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011941:Receptors, Adrenergic; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D004533:Egtazic Acid; D010042:Ouabain; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase; D011188:Potassium