Vasopressin and mineralocorticoid increase apical membrane driving force for K+ secretion in rat CCD

Cortical collecting ducts (CCD) from untreated Sprague-Dawley rats were perfused and bathed in vitro with modified Krebs-Ringer solutions. Arginine vasopressin (AVP;100 microU/ml) in the bathing solution hyperpolarized the transepithelial voltage (PDT, mV) from -2.3 +/- 0.7 (control) to -6.0 +/- 1.1 (n = 22) and decreased the transepithelial resistance from 64 +/- 7 to 54 +/- 7 omega.cm2 (n = 21). AVP depolarized the basolateral membrane voltage of principal cells (PDbl) only slightly (but significantly by paired statistical comparison) from -85 +/- 1 to -84 +/- 1 mV (n = 9), with a fall in the fractional resistance of the apical membrane (FRa) from 0.82 +/- 0.03 to 0.77 +/- 0.05 (n = 9). Luminal amiloride (10 microM) produced no change in FRa in the absence of AVP, but in the presence of AVP increased FRa to the same level observed in the absence of AVP. The changes with AVP were significantly less than those observed by us previously in deoxycorticosterone (DOC)-treated animals (E. Schlatter and J. A. Schafer. Pfluegers Arch. 409:81-92, 1987), indicating that the observed synergism between DOC and AVP in stimulating Na+ absorption is attributable to a greater increase in the Na+ conductance in the apical membrane of principal cells with AVP in the DOC-treated CCD than in the normal. Furthermore, we have calculated that the depolarization of apical membrane voltage resulting from the increased Na+ conductance produced by either or both AVP and DOC increases the driving force for K+ exit across the apical membrane in proportion to the previously measured increase in secretion. This increase in driving force may be sufficient to explain the increased K+ secretion produced by these hormones with no change in the apical membrane K+ conductance.