Effect of distension on ADH-induced osmotic water flow in toad urinary bladder

Summary We recently described a method by which the resistance to water flow of the luminal membrane of ADH-stimulated toad bladder can be quantitatively distinguished from that of barriers lying in series with it. This method requires estimates of both total bladder water permeability (assessed by transbladder osmotic water flow at constant gradient) and luminal membrane water permeability (assessed by quantitation of the frequency of ADH-induced luminal membrane particle aggregates). In the present study we examined the effect of bladder distension on transepithelial osmotic water flow before and during maximal ADH stimulation. Base-line water flow was unaffected by bladder distension, but hormonally stimulated flow increased systematically as bladders became more distended. Distension had no effect on the frequency of ADH-induced intramembranous particle aggregates. By comparing the relationships between aggregate frequency and hormonally induced water permeability in distended and undistended bladders, we found that distension appeared to enhance ADH-stimulated water flow by decreasing the resistance of the series permeability barrier while the apparent water permeability associated with each single luminal membrane aggregate was unaffected. In that bladder distension causes tissue thinning, the series resistance limiting ADH-stimulated water flow appears to be accounted for by deformable barriers within the bladder tissue itself, probably unstirred layers of water.