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The glow of the colonic pH microclimate kindled by short- chain fatty acids, chloride and bicarbonate

Shaoyou Chu and Marshall H. Montrose

Epithelial cells are interface engines. They sit at the boundary between two distinct compartments (e.g. the intestinal lumen and the body) and consume cellular energy to shuttle solutes and water between the two compartments. Theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that one consequence of this transepithelial transport is a microscopic environment directly adjacent to epithelial cells. This microenvironment can maintain a composition distinct from the bulk solutions because of (1) limited mixing near the cellular surface, (2) fixed surface charges on the membrane, and (3) robust transport across the cell membrane. The concept is important because this is the environment which controls activation of membrane transport to drive transepithelial transport and the uptake of many drugs. Such microenvironments have been proposed to have physiological roles in the stomach, airways and intestines.

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