Characteristics of in vitro ammonia and glucose production by dog kidney cortex

Renal cortex slices from acidotic dogs incubated with L-glutamine 1 mM at pH 7.05 produced more ammonia and glucose than slices from nonacidotic animals but no significant difference could be demonstrated at pH 7.48. At a phosphate concentration of 20-30 mM in the medium, a 20-30% increase in ammonia and a 25-40% decrease in glucose production were observed. At L-glutamine concentrations from 0 to 8 mM, a curvilinear increase in both ammonia and glucose production was noted, the effect being greater in slices from acidotic animals. D-Glutamine had little effect on ammoniagenesis. Ammonia production (1 mM L-glutamine) in vitro was 50% lower in acidotic dogs than in vivo. Slices from the remnant left kidney (4-6 wk after right nephrectomy) did not behave differently during acidosis than those from the right kidney with regard to ammonia or glucose production. In vitro ammonia and glucose production was higher in the rat than in the dog in acidotic and nonacidotic conditions when comparable concentrations of L-glutamine substrate were used.