In vitro desensitization of isolated nephron segments to vasopressin

Recent studies have demonstrated that in vivo administration of 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin, an analog of arginine-8-vasopressin, induces homologous desensitization to vasopressin in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. Desensitization has been documented by a decreased physiological response to vasopressin in vivo and by a reduced cAMP accumulation in the cortical thick ascending limb (CTAL). By measuring cAMP content in single isolated medullary thick ascending limbs (MTALs), we now report that desensitization can occur all along the thick ascending limb and, more importantly, that it can also be induced in vitro. In a first series of experiments, we observed that 1 hr after in vivo injection of 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin, MTALs were desensitized by 80% to vasopressin, whereas the effects of the other hormones acting on the same cyclase pool (glucagon, calcitonin) were fully maintained. In a second set of experiments, desensitization was induced in vitro by vasopressin, the natural hormone. A 60-min preincubation of MTALs with vasopressin caused a marked (up to 86%) and highly reproducible desensitization. The process was dose and time dependent. The apparent Ka for desensitization was 0.2 nM, and the half-maximal effect was obtained within 20 min. The desensitization induced in vitro by vasopressin was again essentially homologous in nature, with 80% of the maximal stimulation of cAMP accumulation being obtained in the presence of glucagon. Desensitization to vasopressin was observed in the presence and absence of indomethacin, indicating that it is independent of prostaglandin synthesis. It is concluded that (i) vasopressin and its analog 1-deamino-8-D-arginine-vasopressin cause marked desensitization in the CTAL and MTAL and (ii) the low vasopressin concentrations required to induce desensitization and the rapid onset of the process suggest that it has a physiological significance.