Amino acids as well as polyols and methylamines accumulated in rat kidney during dehydration

During antidiuresis cells in the renal inner medulla contain large amounts of sorbitol, myo-inositol, glycerophosphorylcholine and betaine to adjust the intracellular osmolality to the extracellular hyperosmolality. Although the accumulation of these four major organic osmolytes in the inner medulla of the dehydrated animal has been a consistent finding, the role of another class of organic osmolytes, amino acids, in osmoregulation in the kidney remains controversial. In the present study, renal responses of four major osmolytes and amino acids to dehydration were investigated using two HPLC systems. Taurine levels were significantly higher in the inner medulla of the dehydrated rats as compared with the control rats, and increased monotonically from the cortex to the inner medulla along the corticopapillary axis in the dehydrated rats. As for four major osmolytes, we confirm previously reported patterns in antidiuresis in greater detail. In conclusion, not only the four major osmolytes but taurine also plays a salient role in the osmoregulation in the kidney.