Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Medullary Collecting-Duct Function in Antidiuretic and in Salt-Or Water-Diuretic Rats
Medullary Collecting-Duct Function in Antidiuretic and in Salt-Or Water-Diuretic Rats
Y
Vol. 226, No. 3, March 197 4. Printed in U.S..4.
SONNENBERG, H. Medullary collecting-duct function in antidiuretic rats) received a glucose-saline mixture as drinking fluid
and in salt- or water-diuretic rats. Am. J. Physiol. 226(3): 501-506. (0.9 g NaCl + 5 g glucose/l00 ml), while a third group
1974.-Microcatheterization of the medullary collecting duct of drank a glucose solution in distilled water (5 g/l00 ml).
adult rats was used to study the contribution of water, sodium, and Animals were used between 1 and 3 wk after being placed
potassium transport in this nephron segment to urinary excretion. on the fluid regimen. Rats were anesthetized with Inactin
In antidiuresis medullary reabsorption of fluid and sodium was
that the suction method results in quantitative collection of technique was the advancement of the catheter through the
urine. Inulin-3H was added to the constant intravenous outer glass capillary guide which was fixed on a micro-
infusion 1 h prior to the beginning of urine collections to manipulator. Polyethylene catheters were pulled to an
deliver 125 &i over the course of the experiment. Total outer-tip diameter between 16 and 40 p (ID 8-18 cl), by
time of infusion before collections varied between 1.5 and means of a heated wire loop (7) and were mounted on glass
2.5 h; duration of the experiments was from 160 to 240 min. capillary tubes to leave 5-10 mm of length available for
Urine from the right, control kidney was collected continu- insertion. The catheters were filled with colored, heavy
ously at ZO-min intervals. Arterial blood samples were taken mineral oil and tested in a water bath to determine the
at the beginning and end of each collection period. Urine degree of suction required to just overcome resistance to
from the left, experimental kidney was taken at intervals to flow in the catheter. After insertion of the catheter into a
coincide with simultaneous sampling of collecting-duct papillary duct, the same level of suction was set by means of
fluid. Sodium and potassium concentrations in plasma and a mercury manometer and maintained throughout the
urine were determined by flame photometry; inulin-3H collection (5-20 min).
concentrations, by liquid scintillation counting in a toluene- Catheters were advanced into a duct, usually until ob-
based scintillant. Urinary excretion of sodium (U,,V) and struction was felt, and then pulled back slightly. In attempts
potassium (U,V) was calculated, as were glomerular to advance the catheter as far as possible toward the cortex,
filtration (GFR) rates. penetration into the tissue could occur. Samples were dis-
The microcatheterization technique of Jarausch and carded if red cells appeared in the collected fluid or if the
Ullrich (7) was used to obtain samples of tubular fluid at predetermined suction did not result in a steady rate of
TABLE I. Comparison of average control and experimental kidney function in antidiuretic and in saline- and water-diuretic rats
V, pl/min per g KW UN&V, neq/min per g KW UKV, neq/min per g KW Uosm, mosM GFR, ml/min per g KW
Control Exptl Control Exptl Control Exptl Control Exptl Control Exptl
Antidiuresis
2.64 4.50 70 165 817 817 940 1.21 0.94
1.41 5.98 59 332 570 1,269 1.24 0.87
2.33 4.59 107 211 1,063 673 1,070 1.16 0.72
2.10 6.00 117 175 594 891 994 1.58 0.74
3.68 10.92 203 498 823 672 537 1.18 0.90
5.17 5.26 258 108 740 703 0.76 0.68
1.98 3.82 217 390 349 576 1,540 1,344 1.14 1.07
1.89 4.49 52 142 630 567 1,097 1.17 1.16
5.10 6.87 57 118 1,733 904 1,573 726 1.58 0.97
3.15 11.53 227 767 1,048 1,056 1,880 587 1.31 0.90
3.68 10.84 91 640 1,334 1,376 1,875 734 1.34 1.04
z 3.01 6.8Ot 133 322* 882 864 1,717 892t 1 .24 0.91t
SE ho.38 zt.87 &24 &68 Ml8 zt82 zt93 *88 A.07 334
Saline diuresis
32.4 58.8 5,500 6,919 1,248 1,225 496 345 1.15 0.99
18.1 47.8 4,514 6,345 396 624 323 295 1.02 0.95
49.0 52.9 6,841 6,770 546 657 752 351 1.06 1.19
53.6 58.8 8,293 8,347 916 1,005 425 358 1.32 1.30
51.5 59.5 6,897 8,689 883 930 409 311 1.28 1.23
27.2 62.5 4,571 8,725 540 768 531 357 1.09 1.14
42.3 46.3 7,288 6,988 805 1,025 450 412 1.29 1.28
2 39.2 55.2*5 6,272 7 95wi 762 891 484 347* 1.17 1.155
SE A5.1 AZ.4 zt544 +380 *110 rt82 It51 +14 zt.05 It.05
Water diuresis
60.9 45.8 15 346 153 139 73 72 1.39 1.04
89.3 77.1 123 237 740 567 51 51 1.26 1.31
91.5 93.5 167 385 544 576 41 38 1.47 1.35
77.4 78.7 62 168 573 668 49 47 1.20 1.18
56.4 64.1 43 166 371 491 61 52 1.28 1.19
73.7 104.8 63 307 430 1,052 51 46 1.35 1.29
67.2 66.6 58 164 504 522 43 44 1.05 1.11
was removed from the duct and its distance of insertion was tained by dividing the tubular fluid-to-plasma concentra-
measured with an ocular micrometer. In each animal tion ratio for sodium and potassium by (TF/P)r,.
attempts were made to obtain a representative range of Orthogonal regression analysis (19) was used to obtain
sampling depths. An average of nine samples (range 2-14) lines of best fit. Paired and unpaired t-test analysis as well
was collected. At the end of the experiment a saggital sec- as correlation coefficients were used to obtain levels of
tion of the experimental kidney was taken, from which it statistical significance of differences in data (13).
was possible to determine the distance from the tip of a
papilla to the border between the outer and inner stripes of
RESULTS
the outer medulla. Since it has been found that the outer
stripe of the outer medulla comprised approximately one- A comparison of the average function of control and
third of the remaining distance to the kidney surface (un- experimental kidneys is given for individual animals in
published observations), this amount was added to the Table 1. In nondiuretic rats urine volume and sodium ex-
measurement to obtain the total medullary length. The cretion were uniformly higher in the experimental kidney,
different distances of insertion of catheters were then ex- despite relative reduction in the urinary solute concentra-
pressed as percents of total medullary length. tion and glomerular filtration rate. With the exception of
Sodium and potassium concentrations, in duplicate GFR, these distinctions tended to persist in saline diuresis;
aliquots (10 nl) of tubular fluid, were determined in an whereas during water diuresis, only sodium excretions re-
Aminco helium-glow photometer, Inulin-3H (30 nl), by mained significantly different. In saline-loaded animals
liquid scintillation counting. A Clifton nanoliter osmometer both renal fluid and sodium output were increased more
P
shows that urinary
balancing
excretion was more than capable
the large volume of fluid infused. Renal function
of
+ 5L I I I I I I 1
0.001 L 1 I I I I I
a
5L 1 I I I I I JI 1
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100
percent medullary length
decline
-0.429,
of concentration
1’ < 0.01).
toward the papillary tip (r =
0.05
roc a a a
Individual tubule TF/P inulin ratios are depicted in
Fig. 3 for control (,4), saline-diuretic (B), and water-diuretic
(C) series. Significant increase with medullary length was
seen only in nondiuretic animals (r = 0.747, I’ < O.Ol),
although the TF/P inulin at the beginning of the medulla
was comparable for all three groups. Further reabsorption
of the similar fractional fluid load, therefore, did not occur
during either saline or water diuresis.
The fraction of filtered sodium remaining in the tubule
was calculated for each collection and related to medullary pwcmt mdullary length
distance in Fig. 4. During antidiuresis (A), approximately FIG. 4. Fraction of filtered sodium remaining at different levels of
3 YL of filtered Na entered the medullary duct. Further re- medullary collecting duct. Symbols and explanations as in Fig. 3.
COLLECTING-DUCT FUNCTION IN DIFFERENT DIURETIC STATES 505
CORTEX 1 MEDULLA 1 URINE TABLE 2. Tubular load and reabsorbtion of ions and water 1 J
l
in medullary collecting duct in antidiuresis
.
and 2n saline or water diuresis
0.02L I I I I I I I
Antidiuresis 884 122
Saline diuresis 688 -142
Water diuresis 641 331*
ns;r 0B l l
l
0. I lm l l e As demonstrated by Ullrich (17), under antidiuretic con-
l 8
te I I 1 ditions there is significant reabsorption of both sodium and
0.05 t, I I
water in the medullary collecting duct, comprising in the
present experiments 3 % and 5 % of filtered load, respec-
variability in the present experiments, due to summation of exchange of the two ions in the isolated cortical collecting
collections from different ducts and animals, allows no duct of the rabbit (4). It should be emphasized, however,
conclusion regarding water reabsorption in the final l-2 mm. that the scatter in the potassium data precludes any but
It is evident, however, that such increased reabsorption, if tentative conclusions about K transport.
present, does not extend over the whole medullary duct (see It is concluded that tubular reabsorption of sodium in the
Fig. 3C and Table 2). On the other hand, the data do sup- medullary collecting duct, possibly under the influence of
port the finding of urinary dilution (6) in the collecting aldosterone, contributes critically to the regulation of
system of water-diuretic rats (see Fig. 2B). urinary excretion of both salt and water. Inhibition of
In corroboration with findings of Ullrich (17), and Diezi collecting-duct transport of sodium has been demonstrated
et al. (3), no evidence for net potassium secretion into as a major mechanism of saline natriuresis. On the other
medullary collecting-duct fluid is seen in any of the present hand, under the present experimental conditions, regulation
experimental groups. On the contrary, in water diuresis a of potassium excretion seems to occur upstream from the
small but statistically significant net reabsorption of the medullary collecting system.
ion is evident. Net reabsorption of potassium was also
found after potassium depletion in rats (3). The dissociation This study was supported by the Medical Research Council of
between Na and reverse K transport in the medullary col- Canada, Grant MA-4043.
lecting duct is in sharp contrast to the carrier-mediated Received for publication 29 August 1973.
REFERENCES