Previous studies suggest that enhancement of rubidium tracer (86Rb) lumen-to-bath efflux following removal of luminal Na is mediated in part by a Ba-insensitive pathway. To determine the role of a primary active K pump in this response, we examined the action of known inhibitors of H-K-ATPase (Sch 28080) and Na-K-ATPase (ouabain) on the 86Rb lumen-to-bath efflux coefficient (KRb). Luminal Sch 28080 (10 microM) significantly reduced KRb by 39 +/- 8.0% (P less than 0.05), whereas luminal ouabain (0.1 mM) reduced KRb by 10 +/- 14% (P = not significant), suggesting that a luminal H-K-ATPase mediates Rb efflux. To examine whether H-K-ATPase mediates Rb in KRb following removal of luminal Na, additional experiments were conducted to examine the effect of Sch 28080 on KRb in the presence and the absence of luminal Na. In the presence of luminal Na, 10 microM Sch 28080 reduced KRb by 15 +/- 5.0%. However, in the absence of luminal Na, 10 microM Sch 28080 decreased KRb by 48 +/- 8.2%. The percentage inhibition of KRb by Sch 28080 was significantly greater in the absence of luminal Na than in its presence (P less than 0.01), suggesting that the enhancement of KRb following removal of luminal Na is mediated in part by an H-K-ATPase pathway. In either case transepithelial voltage was not significantly altered. In contrast to the lack of effect of luminal ouabain, addition of 0.1 mM ouabain to the bath increased KRb (69.8 +/- 11.1 vs. 95.9 +/- 18.7 nm/s, P less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)