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Epithelial Fluid Transport: Protruding Macromolecules and Space Charges Can Bring about Electro-Osmotic Coupling at the Tight Junctions

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Abstract

The purpose of the present work is to investigate whether the idea of epithelial fluid transport based on electro-osmotic coupling at the level of the leaky tight junction (TJ) can be further supported by a plausible theoretical model. We develop a model for fluid transport across epithelial layers based on electro-osmotic coupling at leaky tight junctions (TJ) possessing protruding macromolecules and fixed electrical charges. The model embodies systems of electro-hydrodynamic equations for the intercellular pathway, namely the Brinkman and the Poisson-Boltzmann differential equations applied to the TJ. We obtain analytical solutions for a system of these two equations, and are able to derive expressions for the fluid velocity profile and the electrostatic potential. We illustrate the model by employing geometrical parameters and experimental data from the corneal endothelium, for which we have previously reported evidence for a central role for electro-osmosis in translayer fluid transport. Our results suggest that electro-osmotic coupling at the TJ can account for fluid transport by the corneal endothelium. We conclude that electro-osmotic coupling at the tight junctions could represent one of the basic mechanisms driving fluid transport across some leaky epithelia, a process that remains unexplained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 194064, St. Petersburg, Russia

    A. Rubashkin

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, W 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA

    A. Rubashkin, P. Iserovich & J. Fischbarg

  3. Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 630 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA

    J. Fischbarg

  4. Sección Biofisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá esq. Mataojo, Montevideo, 11400, Uruguay

    J.A. Hernández

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  1. A. Rubashkin
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  2. P. Iserovich
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  3. J.A. Hernández
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  4. J. Fischbarg
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Correspondence to J. Fischbarg.

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Rubashkin, A., Iserovich, P., Hernández, J. et al. Epithelial Fluid Transport: Protruding Macromolecules and Space Charges Can Bring about Electro-Osmotic Coupling at the Tight Junctions. J Membrane Biol 208, 251–263 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-005-0831-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-005-0831-y

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