NaCl transport in mouse medullary thick ascending limbs. III. Modulation of the ADH effect by peritubular osmolality

We evaluated the effects of increasing bath osmolality on both the passive permeability properties and the ADH-dependent rates of net Cl- absorption in isolated mouse medullary thick ascending limbs of Henle (mTALH). Increases in both osmolality to 900 mosmol/kg H2O with 600 mM urea had no effect on either the electrical (PNa/PCl ratio, 1.7 and 1.9 with and without peritubular urea, respectively) or tracer (PNa, 0.21 and 0.22 micrometers . s-1 with and without peritubular urea, respectively) ionic permeability characteristics of the mTALH. However, this degree of urea bath hypertonicity reduced reversibly both JnetNaCl, the net rate of transepithelial NaCl absorption, and Ve, the spontaneous transepithelial voltage: JnetNaCl fell by 85% and Ve by 70%. Both of these latter effects could be accounted for quantitatively by an 85% reduction in tau NaCl, the rate of conservative transcellular NaCl transport. The inhibition of Ve by peritubular medium urea hypertonicity was not altered by supramaximal bath concentrations of ADH, supramaximal bath concentrations of cAMP analogues, or symmetrical addition of urea to perfusate and bath. Increases in peritubular medium mannitol concentrations also reduced Ve; the inhibition of Ve was not reversed by supramaximal bath concentrations of aDH. Cell volume remained unchanged with peritubular urea but was reduced by peritubular mannitol. These data indicate that in the mTALH increases in bath osmolality with nonelectrolytes inhibit tau NaCl noncompetitively with respect to ADH or cAMP and independently of cell volume. JnetCl was also reduced with increases in peritubular medium NaCl concentration and was associated with a reduction in cell volume.