Diluting segment in avian kidney. I. Characterization of transepithelial voltages

Renal tubules from the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix, were perfused in vitro to characterize the transepithelial voltage (Vt). The thick limb (TL) of the mammalian-type (MT) nephron showed Vt positive in the lumen (+9.1 +/- 0.7 mV, n = 35). The Vt decreased with increases in hydrostatic perfusion pressure. Furosemide (lumen), Na cyanide (bath), and ouabain (bath) reversibly reduced Vt. Removal of Cl or Na from the perfusate and the bath decreased Vt of the TL from +10.3 +/- 3.0 to -0.3 +/- 0.3 (n = 5) and from +7.4 +/- 1.5 to +1.2 +/- 0.2 mV (n = 8), respectively. The distal tubule of the reptilian-type (RT) nephron showed two types of Vt: a lumen-negative Vt in the late segment and a lumen-positive Vt in the early segment that is in close contact with the parent glomerulus. Both voltages were reversibly reduced by ouabain and Na cyanide. These results suggest that in quail the TL of the MT nephron resembles the thick ascending limb of the mammalian kidney with both Na and Cl required for generation of luminal positivity and the distal tubule of the RT nephron appears functionally heterogeneous.