Renal extraction of glutamine from plasma and whole blood: studies in dogs and rats

The change in plasma and blood cell pools of L-glutamine during a single pass through the kidney was studied in dogs and rats. It was shown that the glutamine content of blood cells does not change following one passage through the renal vascular bed in normal or acidotic dogs. Furthermore, an infusion of L-glutamine elevating by 10-fold the plasma concentration of this amino acid only minimally changed the blood cells' glutamine content. Therefore within the time frame of acute experiments, the dog blood cells can be assumed to be impermeable to glutamine in vivo. Accordingly, renal glutamine extraction can be measured using either whole blood or plasma arteriovenous difference in this species. However, the latter value is larger and therefore can be measured more accurately. In normal rats, no net renal glutamine extraction is measured. In contrast, a considerable renal glutamine uptake occurs in acidotic rats, 23% of the extracted glutamine coming from the blood cell pool. A load of glutamine in vivo significantly elevates both the plasma and the blood cell concentration. It is concluded (i) that the renal extraction of glutamine is best estimated using plasma arteriovenous difference in the dog, especially when the renal extraction is small; (ii) that whole blood measurements should be obtained in the rat.