Renal concentrating defect in the hypokalemic rat is prostaglandin independent

The renal concentrating defect in the hypokalemic rat is prostaglandin independent. The present study was undertaken to test whether the renal concentrating defect in potassium-depleted rats is at least in part mediated by prostaglandins. Rats on a K-deficient (n = 12) and K-supplemented (n = 12) diet underwent a urinary concentrating test before and after prostaglandin inhibition with indomethacin. The drug did not alter maximal urinary osmolality in normokalemic rats. Likewise, the abnormal maximal urinary osmolality of K-depleted rats was not improved by prostaglandin inhibition (1,533 +/- 124 before and 1,475 +/- 88 mosmol/kg H2O after indomethacin). Control animals receiving a blank diluent instead of indomethacin showed no change in maximal concentrating ability between equally timed dehydration tests. Indomethacin caused no significant alterations in blood urea nitrogen or creatinine. Direct measurements of renal medullary prostaglandings revealed no difference between K-depleted (22.9 +/- 4.4 pg/mg) and normokalemic (23.6 +/- 2.3 pg/mg) rats. Indomethacin significantly and comparably lowered prostaglandin content in both K-depleted and normokalemic rats. These studies, therefore, reveal no enhancement of prostaglandin synthesis with K depletion and demonstrate that the renal concentrating defect of K depletion in the rats is prostaglandin independent.