title: The absorption of calcium ions from the ovine reticulo-rumen.
abstract: Net Ca2+ and Mg2+ absorption rates were measured in vivo from buffer solutions placed in the washed reticulo-rumen, isolated in situ in 30 conscious, trained sheep. An increase in concentration of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in the buffer, over the range 0-50 mM, was shown to stimulate the net rates of absorption of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions from the rumen. Similarly, the results of in vitro experiments, carried out with ovine rumen epithelium mounted in short-circuited Ussing chambers, showed that the absence of SCFA from the chamber fluid resulted in a reduction in Jnet Ca2+ caused by reduced flux of Ca2+ ions in the mucosal to serosal direction (Jms Ca2+). The addition of 1 mM acetazolamide, an inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, to the ruminal buffer used in the in vivo experiments led to significant reductions in the net absorption rates of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions in the presence of SCFA (50 mmol x l(-1)) but not in the absence of SCFA. However, in the in vitro experiments, the addition of 60 microM ethoxyzolamide had no significant effect on Jnet Ca2+. A reduction in pH of the intraruminal buffer in vivo from 6.8 to 5.4 led to significant increases in the net absorption rates of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, an effect which was duplicated for Ca2+ in preliminary in vitro experiments in which the pH of the mucosal buffer was reduced from 7.4 to 5.4. This stimulatory effect was confined to Jms Ca2+ and Jnet Ca2+. Ussing chambers were also used to demonstrate that Jnet Ca2+ was reduced by a high transmural potential difference (PD), caused by voltage clamping, independently of the mucosal K+ concentration. Both unidirectional Ca2+ fluxes consisted of a PD-dependent and a K+-insensitive PD-independent component. The latter may be represented by a Ca2+/ 2H+ antiporter. It is postulated that SCFA, and to a lesser extent H2CO3, can stimulate Jms Ca2+ by activation of an apical Ca2+/2H+ antiporter through the provision of protons within the ruminal epithelial cell. A mild reduction in ruminal pH may also lead to a similar stimulation of this putative electroneutral exchange.
authors.affiliation: Welsh Institute of Rural Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Wadhwa
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Care
mesh_terms: D001498:3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-(2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-, Methyl ester / Q000494:pharmacology; D000042:Absorption / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002120:Calcium Channel Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000494:pharmacology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D012159:Reticulum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D012417:Rumen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D012756:Sheep / Q000378:metabolism*; D014700:Verapamil / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D001639:Bicarbonates; D002120:Calcium Channel Agonists; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D001498:3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-(2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-, Methyl ester; D014700:Verapamil; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium