Hyperosmolality of absorbate from isolated rabbit proximal tubules

Rabbit proximal convoluted (PCT) and proximal straight tubules (PST) were perfused under oil so that droplets of absorbate could be collected. When PCT segments were perfused with an ultrafiltrate of rabbit serum or with a similar artificial solution, the osmolality of the absorbate was higher than that of the luminal perfusate by, respectively, 18.4 +/- 1.8 (SE) (P less than 0.001) or 15.8 +/- 1.9 (P less than 0.001) mosmol/kg H2O. In the PST, the absorbate osmolality was 7.7 +/- 2.6 mosmol/kg H2O (P less than 0.012) higher than an artificial perfusate solution. In the PCT the volume absorption rate was positively correlated with the osmolality difference (r = 0.653, P less than 0.002), and the slope of the linear regression line was 0.068 +/- 0.007 nl X min-1 X mm-1 X (mosmol/kg H2O)-1. Although a complete analysis based on reflection coefficients of the several solutes could not be made, this slope indicates that the maximum osmotic water permeability of the PCT in these experiments was 800-1,000 micron/s, which is significantly less than observed previously in tubules perfused in an aqueous bathing medium. The size of the osmotic gradient in the PST also implies a lower water permeability than expected. The results show, however, that a hyperosmotic absorbate can be generated by both segments when the peritubular volume is restricted. In vivo the same process would be expected to generate luminal hypotonicity.