The transport of orthovanadate and similar oxyanions in relation to salt and water transport across the isolated intestine of the common eel, Anguilla anguilla.

An intestinal preparation from the common eel (Anguilla anguilla) was characterized for both mucosal to serosal and serosal to mucosal transport of water, alanine, sodium and chloride. The preparation showed a net outflux of water and a net influx of alanine, and no net fluxes of sodium or chloride. The influxes of all four substances and the outflux of water were inhibited by ouabain, while the outfluxes of alanine, sodium and chloride were increased by ouabain. Influxes and outfluxes of the oxyanions orthovanadate, phosphate, arsenate, sulphate, selenate and chromate were measured over a range of concentrations from 10(-8) M to 10(-4) M. The entry of each anion was dependent on the mucosal concentration, not saturable within the concentration range used or competitive with chloride. There were no net fluxes of these anions and pertechnecate from solutions containing equal mucosal and serosal concentrations of the anion.