Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) plays a key role in the absorption of electrolytes, water, and nutrients from the small intestine. The expression of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase was examined in isolated enterocytes during the course of the ileal inflammatory response elicited by intraluminal administration of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid. The ileal inflammatory response was characterized by a marked cellular infiltrate, villous atrophy, and crypt hyperplasia along with fibrosis and smooth muscle hypertrophy. Peak levels of myeloperoxidase were observed at day 7, and ileal mucosal injury was paralleled by increases in ileal mucosal permeability. Ileal enterocytes were harvested from days 3 to 30 after the induction of ileitis. Decreases in Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase functional activity were observed from days 3 to 21 and were accompanied by corresponding decreases in Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase pump abundance, alpha 1- and beta 1-protein expression, and mRNA abundance, whereas Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase turnover, Michaelis-Menten constant values, and inhibition constant values for Na+ and ouabain, respectively, were unaltered. Alterations in transcriptional and posttranscriptional events may determine the changes in Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity in this particular model. Additionally observed increases in thymidine kinase and ornithine decarboxylase activities appear to signify alterations in the state of differentiation of the ileal epithelium and may determine the phenotypic expression of enterocyte transporters and permeability in the setting of inflammation.