Butyrate stimulates salt absorption in mammalian colon. We examined whether butyrate also affects Cl- secretion. Mucosal segments of distal colon of male Sprague-Dawley rats and T84 cells were studied in Ussing chambers. In control colon, 1 mM dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (DBcAMP) increased short-circuit current (Isc) and serosal-to-mucosal Cl- flux (JsmCl) by 3.2 +/- 0.8 and 2.9 +/- 0.8 mueq.cm-2.h-1, respectively. Mucosal or serosal 25 mM butyrate prevented DBcAMP-induced increases in Isc and JsmCl. Four and eight millimolar butyrate caused half-maximal inhibition of the increases in JsmCl and Isc, respectively. Butyrate also inhibited basal JsmCl (by 2.0 +/- 0.4 mueq.cm-2.h-1) but not carbachol-mediated Cl- secretion. The relative inhibitory potency at 25 mM of other short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) paralleled their degree of cellular metabolism: butyrate > acetate = propionate > isobutyrate. At 25 mM, all SCFA reduced mucosal intracellular pH (pHi) transiently by 0.1 pH unit. In intact T84 cells, 50 mM butyrate inhibited the DBcAMP-induced rise in Isc by 55%. In T84 cells with nystatin-permeabilized basolateral membranes, butyrate inhibited the increase in Isc by 82%. We conclude that butyrate inhibits basal and cAMP-mediated Cl- secretion by a mechanism independent of pHi, possibly located at the apical membrane.

We have previously demonstrated inhibition of basal Cl- secretion by intracellular bicarbonate concentration ([HCO3-]i) in rat distal colon. We now examined whether secretagogue-induced Cl- secretion is inhibited by [HCO3-]i as well. Stripped segments of distal colon from male Sprague-Dawley rats and the colon tumor cell line T84 were studied. Flux measurements were performed in the Ussing chamber under short-circuit conditions. [HCO3-]i was calculated from intracellular pH (pHi) values that were estimated with the pH-sensitive dye 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein. Dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and carbachol were used as secretagogues. In both distal colon and T84 cells, [HCO3-]i did not affect cAMP-induced Cl- secretion. However, carbachol-induced secretion was inhibited by [HCO3-]i; in rat colon, Cl- secretion decreased from 2.3 to 1.5 mueq.cm-2.h-1 when [HCO3-]i was increased from 15.0 to 28.4 mM (P < 0.05). In T84 cells, the change in short-circuit current decreased from 8.1 to 1.1 microA/cm2 over a range of [HCO3-]i from 0 to 15.6 mM (P < 0.001). We conclude that [HCO3-]i is an important modulator of carbachol-stimulated Cl- secretion in both rat distal colon and the T84 cell line. cAMP-mediated secretion is not affected by [HCO3-]i.