Microelectrode studies of Necturus antral mucosa. II. Equivalent circuit analysis

Intracellular microelectrode techniques were employed to determine the equivalent circuit parameters in Necturus antral mucosa. Stable intracellular impalements were obtained using 15- to 50-MΩ microelectrodes. Measured transepithelial and cellular potentials and voltage deflections produced by transepithelial current pulses were used to calculate the electrical resistances of the cell membranes and the equivalent electromotive forces (EMF) at both cell borders. The measured potentials were -4.1 ± 0.8 mV for the entire epithelia, -41.8 ± 5.1 mV for the apical membrane, and -45.9 ± 5.0 mV for the basolateral membrane. Values for the resistances were 7,300 ± 1,900 Ω·cm² for the apical, 3,990 ± 1,170 Ω·cm² for the basolateral, and 710 ± 40 Ω·cm² for the shunt. Assuming that the shunt EMF is zero with control Ringer solution on both sides of the tissue, the effect of this relatively low-resistance shunt on electrical parameters can be determined. The cell membrane EMFs are both oriented with the interior negative and are -1.2 ± 9.7 mV (apical) and -69.7 ± 11.3 mV (basolateral). The difference between these values and the measured potentials is the result of a flow of current through the shunt from serosa to mucosa, hyperpolarizing the apical and depolarizing the basolateral membranes.