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PubMed1996

Extracellular urea concentration modulates cAMP production in the mouse MTAL.

Ionic reabsorption along the ascending limb of Henle's loop (TAL) is controlled by hormonal stimulation. Most of the hormones that affect this reabsorption regulate ionic transporter activity via cAMP, and some of these hormonal actions have been shown to be modulated by interstitial osmolarity. We studied the early effects of increasing extracellular urea concentration on the production of cAMP induced by arginine vasopressin (AVP) and forskolin in a suspension of medullary portions of TAL (MTAL) prepared from mouse kidney. The addition of urea, performed fifteen minutes before adenylyl cyclase stimulation, decreased both AVP- and forskolin-induced cAMP production. This effect, observed both in the presence and the absence of phosphodiesterase inhibition, was optimal with 300 mmol/liter urea. Addition of urea to the extracellular medium disturbed several cellular parameters, but the decrease in cAMP production appeared to be mediated by the activation of both the protein kinase A and a phosphatase rather than by the modifications in phospholipid metabolism. Since cAMP is the major cytosolic transductional factor in MTAL cells, urea present in the medullary interstitium may thus be considered as an important modulator of hormonal actions in this segment of the nephron.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1996

Calciuric response to an acute acid load in healthy subjects and hypercalciuric calcium stone formers.

Excessive animal protein consumption is associated with a greater risk of occurrence of renal calcium stone, presumably because of the attendant endogenous acid production. Indeed, chronic acid load enhances urinary calcium excretion possibly through an increased bone calcium release. Because acute studies are best designed to elucidate the mechanism, renal or extra renal, underlying hypercalciuria in the setting of enhanced acid load, we examined the response of 9 healthy adults (8 males, 1 female, aged 38 +/- 3 years, weight 67 +/- 2 kg) and 34 hypercalciuric recurrent calcium stone formers (31 males, 3 females, aged 44 +/- 2 years, weight 72 +/- 2 kg), without any associated disease, to an oral acid load (NH4Cl 2 mmol/kg body wt). After an overnight fast, each patient and control was studied during one one-hour period before and three two-hour periods after their intake of the acid load. An additional group of four time-control subjects (4 males, aged 33 +/- 2 years, weight 66 +/- 2 kg) was studied as the experimental groups except that they did not receive the acid load. On baseline, the three groups exhibited similar glomerular filtration rates, net acid excretions, and plasma calcium and magnesium concentrations. However, fasting urine calcium and magnesium excretions were higher in hypercalciuric calcium stone formers than in healthy control or time-control subjects. In time-control subjects, plasma acid base status, net acid excretion, filtered loads of calcium and magnesium, and urinary calcium and magnesium excretions remained unchanged all over the study. By contrast, after the oral acute acid load, net acid excretion increased and urinary pH decreased similarly in patient and control groups; glomerular filtration rate did not change, as well as plasma calcium and magnesium concentrations. Nevertheless, urinary calcium and magnesium excretions markedly increased, in both groups, independently of changes in tubular sodium handling and in plasma parathyroid hormone concentration. The increase in urinary calcium and magnesium excretions that occurred in the absence of any change in the filtered load of calcium and magnesium was therefore mediated by a decrease in tubular calcium and magnesium reabsorption, independent of PTH, but dependent on changes in net acid excretion. A positive linear relationship between urinary calcium and magnesium excretions suggested that the target tubular site for acid load was the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop. Finally, a negative linear relationship was demonstrated between the acid load-induced increase in urinary calcium excretion and fasting urinary calcium excretion; indeed, the lowest calciuric responses were observed in patients with the highest fasting urinary calcium excretion. Thus there was no additional effect of the acid load-induced inhibition on intrinsic defect in tubular calcium reabsorption which suggests that the tubular target site for acid load and the site of calcium transport defect in idiopathic hypercalciuria may be the same.

Acidosis↗
PubMed1997

Tyrosine kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and protein kinase C regulate insulin-stimulated NaCl absorption in the thick ascending limb.

We have previously shown a direct stimulatory effect of insulin on NaCl absorption in the medullary thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (mTAL). To further investigate the signal transduction involved, we determined whether tyrosine kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase), and/or protein kinase C (PKC) regulate insulin-stimulated NaCl absorption in the mTAL by in vitro microperfusion methods. In control experiments, insulin increased transepithelial voltage (V(te)) and net lumen-to-bath Cl- flux (J(Cl)). Genistein and methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate, two specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors, abolished the effects of insulin. Wortmannin, a specific PI3-kinase inhibitor, inhibited the action of insulin. The effects of insulin also were inhibited by staurosporin and calphostin C, which are dissimilar inhibitors of PKC. These results indicate that insulin stimulates NaCl absorption in the mTAL through tyrosine kinase, PI3-kinase, and PKC-mediated mechanisms. Moreover, because we have reported previously that insulin causes no detectable change in cytosolic free Ca2+ in the mTAL cells, the present results also suggest that insulin-induced PKC activation is not related to inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) production.

Absorption↗
PubMed1997

Mutations in the chloride channel gene, CLCNKB, cause Bartter's syndrome type III.

Analysis of patients with inherited hypokalaemic alkalosis resulting from salt-wasting has proved fertile ground for identification of essential elements of renal salt homeostasis and blood-pressure regulation. We now demonstrate linkage of this phenotype to a segment of chromosome 1 containing the gene encoding a renal chloride channel, CLCNKB. Examination of this gene reveals loss-of-function mutations that impair renal chloride reabsorption in the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop. Mutations in seventeen kindreds have been identified, and they include large deletions and nonsense and missense mutations. Some of the deletions are shown to have arisen by unequal crossing over between CLCNKB and the nearby related gene, CLCNKA. Patients who harbour CLCNKB mutations are characterized by hypokalaemic alkalosis with salt-wasting, low blood pressure, normal magnesium and hyper- or normocalciuria; they define a distinct subset of patients with Bartter's syndrome in whom nephrocalcinosis is absent. These findings demonstrate the critical role of CLCNKB in renal salt reabsorption and blood-pressure homeostasis, and demonstrate the potential role of specific CLCNKB antagonists as diuretic antihypertensive agents.

Bartter Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

A bioenergetic explanation for the selective vulnerability of renal medullary tubules to hypoxia.

1. In order to explain the vulnerability of medullary thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (mTAL) during hypoxia, adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) content was measured in isolated rat mTAL cells during control conditions and chemically induced hypoxia and compared with those in medullary collecting duct (MCD) cells. 2. Basal ATP levels in mTAL and MCD were estimated as 3.6 and 2.1 mmol/l, respectively. Antimycin A (5 mumol/l) decreased the ATP content by 41% of the control value in the mTAL cells, but failed to reduce that of the MCD cells. Administration of sodium cyanide (5 mmol/l) drastically depleted ATP in the mTAL cells within 5 min (2-3% of control). On the other hand, ATP levels in MCD cells were sustained for at least 60 min after cyanide administration (64% of control). 3. When tubules were made permeable to sodium by the addition of nystatin, the effects of chemical hypoxia on the cell ATP levels were intensified in both segments, and this was partially blocked by pretreatment with ouabain, or by lowering the sodium concentration of the medium. 4. Higher doses of nystatin in mTAL caused a reduction in ATP levels even under control conditions, but its effect was prevented in low sodium medium. 5. The present study suggests that cell ATP levels can be altered by sodium, potassium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase activity, and that due to their high sodium-transporting activity, mTAL cells are more sensitive to reductions in ATP levels during hypoxia than are MCD cells.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1998

Dietary salt regulates expression of Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein in rats.

BACKGROUND: Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein (THP) is a unique protein that is produced exclusively by cells of the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (TALH). This study examined whether dietary salt altered renal THP production. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were examined on days 1, 4, and 15 following placement in metabolic cages on diet that contained 0.3%, 1.0% or 8.0% NaCl. THP expression was quantified using Northern hybridization and Western blotting analysis. RESULTS: An increase in dietary salt produced sustained increases in relative steady-state mRNA and protein levels of THP in the kidney. Addition of furosemide, but not chlorothiazide, to animals on the 8.0% NaCl diet further augmented steady-state mRNA levels of THP. CONCLUSIONS: An increase in dietary salt and the loop diuretic, furosemide, increased expression of THP in the rat. The data support the involvement of this unique protein in the function of the TALH during changes in dietary salt. These findings also suggest that restriction of dietary salt may be beneficial in cast nephropathy in multiple myeloma and recurrent nephrolithiasis, two diseases in which THP can play an important pathogenetic role.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Concentrating defect in experimental nephrotic syndrone: altered expression of aquaporins and thick ascending limb Na+ transporters.

BACKGROUND: Several pathophysiological states associated with deranged water balance are associated with altered expression and/or intracellular distribution of aquaporin water channels. The possible role of dysregulation of thick ascending limb NaCl transporters, which are responsible for countercurrent multiplication in the kidney, has not been evaluated. METHODS: Semiquantitative immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry were carried out in the kidneys of rat with adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome and in vehicle-injected control rats. RESULTS: Preliminary studies confirmed the presence of a severe concentrating defect. Semiquantitative immunoblotting of outer medullary homogenates demonstrated a marked decrease in the abundance of three thick ascending limb Na+ transporters in nephrotic rats, namely the bumetanide-sensitive Na-K-2Cl cotransporter (BSC-1), the type 3 Na/H exchanger (NHE-3), and the alpha 1-subunit of the Na-K-ATPase. These results are predictive of a decrease in the NaCl transport capacity of the medullary thick ascending limb and therefore a decrease in countercurrent multiplication. Immunocytochemistry of outer medullary thin sections demonstrated broad (but highly variable) suppression of BSC-1 expression in the outer medullas of adriamycin-nephrotic rats. There was also a large decrease in outer medullary expression of two collecting duct water channels (aquaporin-2 and -3) and the major water channel of the thin descending limb of Henle's loop (aquaporin-1). CONCLUSION: The concentrating defect in adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome in rats is a consequence of multiple defects in water and solute transporter expression, which would alter both the generation of medullary interstitial hypertonicity and osmotic equilibration in the collecting duct. Whether a similar widespread defect in transporter expression is present in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome is, at this point, untested.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Effect of cAMP on the activity and the phosphorylation of Na+,K(+)-ATPase in rat thick ascending limb of Henle.

BACKGROUND: In rat kidney medullary thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (MTAL), activation of protein kinase A (PKA) was previously reported to inhibit Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. This is paradoxical with the known stimulatory effect of cAMP on sodium reabsorption. Because this inhibition was mediated by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activation, a pathway stimulated by hypoxia, we evaluated the influence of oxygen supply on cAMP action on Na+,K(+)-ATPase in MTAL. METHODS: Ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake and Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity were measured in isolated MTALs. Cellular ATP content and the phosphorylation level of Na+,K(+)-ATPase were determined in suspensions of outer medullary tubules. Experiments were carried out under nonoxygenated or oxygenated conditions in the absence or presence of PKA activators. RESULTS: cAMP analogues or forskolin associated with 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) inhibited ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake in nonoxygenated MTALs. In contrast, when oxygen supply was increased, cAMP stimulated ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake and Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. Improved oxygen supply was associated with increased intracellular ATP content. The phosphorylation level of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase alpha subunit was increased by cAMP analogues or forskolin associated with IBMX in oxygenated as well as in nonoxygenated tubules. Under nonoxygenated conditions, the inhibition of Na+,K(+)-ATPase was dissociated from its cAMP-dependent phosphorylation, whereas under oxygenated conditions, the stimulatory effect of cAMP analogues on ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake was linearly related and cosaturated with the level of phosphorylation of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase alpha subunit. CONCLUSION: In oxygenated MTALs, PKA-mediated stimulation of Na+,K(+)-ATPase likely participates in the cAMP-dependent stimulation of sodium reabsorption. Under nonoxygenated conditions, this stimulatory pathway is likely overridden by the PLA2-mediated inhibitory pathway, a possible adaptation to protect the cells against hypoxic damage.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed2001

Polarized function of thick ascending limbs of Henle cells in osmoregulation.

BACKGROUND: Organic osmolytes are necessary for osmoregulation in mammalian kidney. Since renal epithelial cells in many cases possess specific mechanisms both for uptake and osmotically regulated release, we investigated their localization in polarized cells. METHODS: An immortalized epithelial cell line derived from the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (TALH) was used to examine the transport characteristics of the apical and basolateral plasma membranes for osmotic regulation of organic osmolytes. Cells were cultured on filters in a two-compartment chamber. RESULTS: In culture under hypertonic conditions the TALH cells accumulated in the following balance: sorbitoverline> betaine = myo-inositoverline> glycerophosphoryl choline (GPC). When extracellular osmolarity was decreased, then sorbitol was released on the apical side, whereas betaine and myo-inositol efflux occurred on the basolateral side. GPC release showed no preference of either side. Taurine did not seem to be necessary for osmoregulation under these conditions. Osmotically regulated myo-inositol and betaine uptake was located on the apical side, and choline uptake took place on both sides equally. CONCLUSION: These results show that in renal epithelial cells, both osmotically induced release and the uptake of organic osmolytes are divided between the apical and the basolateral sides. This might be important for volume regulation.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Desensitization of rat renal thick ascending limb cells to vasopressin.

Previous studies from this laboratory have demonstrated that vasopressin stimulates K, Mg, Ca, Cl, and Na reabsorption by the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (TALH) of the rat kidney. Micropuncture of superficial nephrons and clearance experiments were performed to determine whether desensitization of the TALH to vasopressin may be demonstrated in vivo and whether such desensitization is specific for the effects of vasopressin (i.e., homologous) or also alters the response to the other hormones acting on the same pool of adenylate cyclase in this nephron segment. Brattleboro rats, with hereditary hypothalamic diabetes insipidus (DI), were given i.m. injections of 1-desamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin (des-1-amino-[DArg8]VP (herein designated dDAVP); 2 micrograms/day) for 3 days. The effects of maximal physiological doses of arginine-8-vasopressin ([Arg8]VP (herein designated AVP); 20 pg/min per 100 g of body weight) were studied 2 days after the cessation of treatment, when the animals had returned to DI. The K, Mg, Ca, and, to a lesser extent, Cl and Na concentrations in the fluid leaving the TALH of superficial nephrons were higher in dDAVP-treated than in untreated rats given similar amounts of AVP during the experiments. A 50-60% desensitization of the TALH to AVP was still apparent 2 days after stopping the dDAVP injections. Desensitization is homologous, as judged from normal responses to physiological doses of glucagon and calcitonin, two hormones acting on the same cyclase pool as AVP in the rat TALH. The AVP-dependent increase of urine osmolality, however, indicated that its effects on the permeability to water of the collecting duct were scarcely affected in dDAVP-treated rats. It is concluded that (i) AVP induces homologous desensitization in the rat TALH and (ii) the TALH can be markedly desensitized to AVP when the collecting duct response to this hormone is poorly affected or even fully maintained.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1999

Serial microanalysis of renal transcriptomes.

Large-scale gene expression studies can now be routinely performed on macroamounts of cells, but it is unclear to which extent current methods are valuable for analyzing complex tissues. In the present study, we used the method of serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) for quantitative mRNA profiling in the mouse kidney. We first performed SAGE at the whole-kidney level by sequencing 12,000 mRNA tags. Most abundant tags corresponded to transcripts widely distributed or enriched in the predominant kidney epithelial cells (proximal tubular cells), whereas transcripts specific for minor cell types were barely evidenced. To better explore such cells, we set up a SAGE adaptation for downsized extracts, enabling a 1, 000-fold reduction of the amount of starting material. The potential of this approach was evaluated by studying gene expression in microdissected kidney tubules (50,000 cells). Specific gene expression profiles were obtained, and known markers (e.g., uromodulin in the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop and aquaporin-2 in the collecting duct) were found appropriately enriched. In addition, several enriched tags had no databank match, suggesting that they correspond to unknown or poorly characterized transcripts with specific tissue distribution. It is concluded that SAGE adaptation for downsized extracts makes possible large-scale quantitative gene expression measurements in small biological samples and will help to study the tissue expression and function of genes not evidenced with other high-throughput methods.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Diuretic agents. Mechanisms of action and clinical uses.

Diuretics act primarily by blocking reabsorption of sodium at four major sites in the nephron. Clinically useful agents that block sodium reabsorption effectively in the proximal tubule are lacking. Furosemide (Lasix), ethacrynic acid (Edecrin), and possibly organomercurial agents are effective in the ascending limb of Henle's loop. Thiazides are the major agents acting in the early distal tubule. In the late distal tubule and collecting duct, spironolactone (Aldactone) and triamterene (Dyrenium) are useful, especially in combination with diuretics which act more proximally. In treating edematous states, initial therapy with thiazides is effective in most patients who do not exhibit moderate or severe renal insufficiency, severe hyperaldosteronism with excessive distal reabsorption of sodium in exchange for potassium, or excessive sodium reabsorption in the proximal tubule or ascending limb. Nonedematous states in which diuretic therapy is useful include hypertension, hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, diabetes insipidus, and acute renal failure.

Acute Kidney Injury↗
PubMed1979

The kidney in health and disease: VIII. Renal concentrating and diluting mechanisms.

The capacity to elaborate urine either more dilute or more concentrated than the plasma from which it is derived enables the kidney to regulate the solute concentrations and hence the osmolality of body fluids within narrow physiologic limits despite wide fluctuations in salt and water intake. The underlying mechanisms are examined in detail, with emphasis on the role of urea in the countercurrent system of Henle's loop.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

A Na+- and Cl- -activated K+ channel in the thick ascending limb of mouse kidney.

This study investigates the presence and properties of Na+-activated K+ (K(Na)) channels in epithelial renal cells. Using real-time PCR on mouse microdissected nephron segments, we show that Slo2.2 mRNA, which encodes for the K(Na) channels of excitable cells, is expressed in the medullary and cortical thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop, but not in the other parts of the nephron. Patch-clamp analysis revealed the presence of a high conductance K+ channel in the basolateral membrane of both the medullary and cortical thick ascending limbs. This channel was highly K+ selective (P(K)/P(Na) approximately 20), its conductance ranged from 140 to 180 pS with subconductance levels, and its current/voltage relationship displayed intermediate, Na+-dependent, inward rectification. Internal Na+ and Cl- activated the channel with 50% effective concentrations (EC50) and Hill coefficients (nH) of 30 +/- 1 mM and 3.9 +/- 0.5 for internal Na+, and 35 +/- 10 mM and 1.3 +/- 0.25 for internal Cl-. Channel activity was unaltered by internal ATP (2 mM) and by internal pH, but clearly decreased when internal free Ca2+ concentration increased. This is the first demonstration of the presence in the epithelial cell membrane of a functional, Na+-activated, large-conductance K+ channel that closely resembles native K(Na) channels of excitable cells. This Slo2.2 type, Na+- and Cl--activated K+ channel is primarily located in the thick ascending limb, a major renal site of transcellular NaCl reabsorption.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1985

Substrate utilization by the distal nephron in dogs with chronic metabolic acidosis: studies with ethacrynic acid.

Glutamine and lactate oxidations provide the bulk of ATP required for sodium reabsorption in the dog kidney during chronic metabolic acidosis. Indirect evidence has suggested that glutamine is oxidized in the proximal convoluted tubule; if this is true, lactate should be the major fuel of the more distal nephron sites. The purpose of these experiments was to determine which substrates were metabolized by the acidotic dog kidney when a significant proportion of sodium chloride reabsorption was inhibited in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. Ethacrynic acid, a loop diuretic, caused the fractional excretion of sodium to increase from 1 to 34%. The glomerular filtration rate declined somewhat, but there was no significant change in the renal blood flow rate. Renal oxygen consumption declined in conjunction with the natriuresis. However, when the data were examined at a constant filtered load of sodium (a constant rate of ATP turnover), there was no reduction in glutamine uptake or glutamine conversion to ATP in the presence of this natriuretic agent. The major change observed concerned lactate metabolism, in the presence of ethacrynic acid, there was no longer a significant rate of lactate extraction. These data are best explained by assuming that glutamine is the fuel of the proximal convoluted tubule of the acidotic dog kidney, whereas lactate oxidation occurs principally in the nephron sites where sodium reabsorption was inhibited by ethacrynic acid.

Acidosis↗
PubMed1976

Renal tubular chloride transport and the mode of action of some diuretics.

The renal diluting segment (thick ascending limb of Henle's loop) reabsorbs sodium chloride in excess of water and is responsible for dilution of the urine as well as reabsorption of a large fraction of the salt present in the glomerular ultrafiltrate. There is active reabsorption of chloride, which causes the voltage to be positive in the tubule lumen. Most, if not all, of the sodium transport is passive, driven by the voltage. Three major diuretics (mersalyl, furosemide, and ethacrynic acid) act in the lumen of the diluting segment to inhibit active chloride transport, not sodium transport as previously believed. This specific action on chloride transport may explain how these drugs are able to inhibit salt transport in the kidney while having so little effect on the transport processes elsewhere in the body.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1983

Sodium chloride coupled transport in mammalian nephrons.

A number of possible modes of coupling of sodium chloride transport have been considered, and their roles in the various parts of the renal tubule have been reviewed. Many modes of coupling have been found in various combinations in one or another of the segments. Of special interest are the observations of carrier coupling of sodium to chloride transport in some of the segments, such as the thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Differential response to hormones of defined distal nephron epithelia in culture.

Defined cultures of rabbit kidney cortical collecting tubule (CCT) and cortical thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (CAL) were grown in monolayers from individual microdissected tubules and maintained for up to five passages, a maximum of 53 days. CCT cells contained cytochemically demonstrable vasopressin-stimulated adenylate cyclase, whereas CAL cells were characterized by the localization of Na+-K+-ATPase. [3H]thymidine labeling index decreased with time in primary cultures in the presence or absence of 3% serum. When added to unsupplemented serum-free media alone or in combinations, the growth factors dexamethasone, thyroxine, insulin, epidermal growth factor, and prolactin stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation to different extents. CCT cells were maximally stimulated by addition of dexamethasone alone, whereas a combination of dexamethasone, thyroxine, insulin, and prolactin was most stimulatory for CAL cells. Addition of hormones concerned with renal ion and water transport to fully supplemented serum-free media inhibited [3H]thymidine labeling index: 1) vasopressin, isoproterenol, and dibutyryl cAMP were equally inhibitory in CCT and CAL cultures; 2) parathyroid hormone and prostaglandin E1 were more inhibitory in CAL cultures; and 3) aldosterone was particularly inhibitory in CCT cultures.

Aldosterone↗