Transport of inositol into the distal cauda epididymidis of the rat.

The transport of [3H]myo-inositol into the lumen of the rat distal cauda epididymidis was studied by luminal perfusion in vitro. Entry was time and tubule length-dependent and saturable transport could be demonstrated with Vmax of 237 pmol/(30 min. cm) and K+ of 1 mM. Secretion of unlabeled inositol into the epididymal lumen was maintained for 5 hours at a concentration 6 times greater than that of the bathing solution. The turnover time of the epithelial pool of inositol was 4.5 hours, from which the intracellular concentration was estimated to be 26.6 mM. Transport was not reduced by metabolic inhibitors, and it was demonstrated that exchange diffusion across the basolateral membranes could drive the uptake in this region.