Tubuloglomerular feedback control of distal fluid delivery: effect of extracellular volume

A closed-feedback loop micropuncture method was used to examine tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) and the regulation of distal fluid delivery in hydropenic rats (CON), moderately hemorrhaged rats (HEM), and rats given desoxycorticosterone (DOC) and 0.6% saline to drink. Distal delivery and TGF response curves were measured with four samples per nephron: a spontaneous early distal collection, two distal collections during moderate (7.5 nl/min) and saturating (30 nl/min) perturbations in nephron fluid load, and a proximal collection to measure single-nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) during TGF inhibition. Arterial pressure, predistal volume reabsorption, SNGFR, and early distal flow were significantly higher in DOC than in HEM; the CON group exhibited intermediate values. Except for a greater maximum TGF response in HEM, the normalized TGF responses were similar in all three groups, as was the regulation of distal fluid delivery. However, the TGF onset threshold and the TGF operating point, defined by the spontaneous rates of early distal flow and SNGFR, were reset such that distal fluid delivery and SNGFR were higher in DOC than in HEM, as was renal sodium excretion. The results show that the level around which TGF stabilizes distal fluid delivery is reset when extracellular fluid volume is altered.