Measurement of cation transport in vivo in healthy volunteers after the oral administration of lithium carbonate.

1. We have measured cation transport in vivo in seven healthy volunteers under control conditions and after they had taken lithium carbonate for 21 days in doses which maintained the serum lithium concentration in the range 0.6-0.8 mmol/l. 2. We have measured cation transport in vivo after the administration of an oral load of rubidium chloride, and have found that, although intra-erythrocytic concentrations of rubidium were significantly lower 1 h after the administration of rubidium when the subjects were taking lithium, there was a significant increase in the rate of uptake of rubidium into the erythrocytes over the subsequent period of the test, suggesting a direct stimulation of sodium, potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase by lithium. 3. Lithium administration did not affect the plasma concentration versus time profile of rubidium after the rubidium load, implying that the lithium-stimulated uptake of rubidium which occurs in erythrocytes does not necessarily occur in other cell types. 4. These results suggest that previous studies of cation transport using peripheral cells and assay systems in vitro do not necessarily reflect changes in cation transport in vivo in excitable tissues.