EFFECTS OF 3-ACETYL STROPHANTHIDIN ON POTASSIUM TRANSFER IN THE SUBMAXILLARY GLAND OF THE DOG IN SITU

¹ Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

The effect of 3-acetyl strophanthidin on the uptake and washout of K⁴² in stimulated and unstimulated dog submaxillary glands was studied. K⁴² exchanges in unstimulated glands at about 1.1% per minute, and at about twice this rate after the first 3 to 5 minutes of stimulation. The rate of washout during the first 3 to 5 minutes of stimulation is about 12 times that of the unstimulated gland.

Nonsecretory intraarterial doses (0.3 to 3 µg) of 3-acetyl strophanthidin decrease the rate of uptake and washout of K⁴² in both stimulated and unstimulated glands. Higher doses (3 to 30 µg) cause a flow of saliva, decrease the rate of uptake, and increase the rate of washout from unstimulated glands. In stimulated glands these high doses increase the rate of saliva flow, and increase both the K⁴² and total potassium concentration of saliva in washout experiments.

The results suggest 1) that the potassium found in saliva is derived both from the gland cells and from plasma, and 2) that 3-acetyl strophanthidin affects transport of potassium both between the cells and the blood, and between the cells and the salivary lumen, a higher dose being required to affect the latter.