Ca2+ absorption in the pars recta of cortical S2 rabbit proximal tubules: role of diffusion

Individual partes rectae of cortical S2 proximal tubules were dissected from rabbit kidneys and perfused in vitro. The bath was a protein-free, plasmalike solution, whereas the perfusate simulated "late" proximal tubular fluid (high [Cl-], low [HCO3-], absence of Na+-cotransported solutes). Transepithelial voltages at the perfusion and collection ends were measured simultaneously in doubly cannulated tubules. Ionized calcium concentrations in perfusates, collectates, and the bath were calculated from measurements of calcium ion activities made in situ with Ca2+-selective microelectrodes. Epithelial calcium permeability was estimated from the bath-to-lumen movement of 45Ca. Total calcium concentrations of perfused and collected fluids were measured by continuous-flow microcolorimetry. Under these conditions there was a lumen-positive transepithelial voltage that was equal at both ends of the tubules. Luminal [Ca2+] [corrected], which decreased along the length of the tubule, was greater than that of the bath. Using the measured calcium permeability, we calculated the diffusional component of the net calcium absorptive flux from the mean transepithelial delta [Ca2+] and the measured transepithelial voltage. We found that ionic diffusion accounted for the net flux, suggesting that diffusion is the primary mechanism of calcium absorption in this segment of the rabbit nephron.