Effects of diet and osmotic pressure on Na+ transport and tissue conductance of sheep isolated rumen epithelium

The intention of this study was to determine the effects of mucosal osmotic pressure on transport and barrier functions of the rumen epithelium of sheep, which were fed various diets: hay ad libitum , or 600, 1200 or 1800 g day −1 of a supplemented diet plus hay ad libitum . The experiments were conducted by using the conventional Ussing chamber technique. Mucosal osmolarity was adjusted to 300 (control), 375 or 450 mosmol l −1 . Feeding of a supplemented diet led to a significant increase of mucosal to serosal Na + transport and net Na + transport, probably because of an increase of apical Na + –H + exchange activity. An increase in mucosal osmotic pressure: (a) reduced net Na + transport in all feeding groups, the remaining net Na + transport being higher in tissues of sheep fed a supplemented diet; (b) increased transepithelial tissue conductance, this rise being smallest with a high intake of the supplemented diet; and (c) enhanced the serosal to mucosal Na + transport in tissues of hay-fed sheep and sheep fed with 600 g day −1 of the supplemented diet, while higher intakes of the supplemented diet (1200 and 1800 g) did not produce any effect. All these changes indicate a diet-dependent adaptation to luminal hypertonicity.