Time course of the renal response to triiodothyronine in the rat

Experiments were carried out to compare temporal changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), filtered Na+ load, and renal cortical (Na+ + K+)-adenosine triphosphatase (Na-K-ATPase) activity in the hypothyroid rat after administration of a single dose of triiodothyronine (T3) (50 microgram/100 g body wt). The cortex showed an increase in Na-K-ATPase at 24 h and progressive increases to a peak of 62% at 48 h. GFR and filtered Na+ load showed no changes at 24 and 48 h. At 72h, however, significant increases of 62 and 63% (per rat) were observed in GFR and filtered Na+ load, respectively. The results show that the early increase in Na-K-ATPase activity upon T3 treatment precedes the increases in GFR and filtered Na+ load, suggesting a direct effect of T3 on the regulation of Na-K-ATPase activity in the hypothyroid rat kidney cortex, rather than a secondary response to a primary increase in filtered Na+ load as proposed previously.