Influence of gender on renal thiazide diuretic receptor density and response

The influence of gender and gonadectomy on (1) the density of the renal thiazide-sensitive ion transporter, as quantitated by the ability of renal membranes to bind (3H)metolazone, and (2) the changes in the urinary excretion of electrolytes caused by maximal bendroflumethiazide (BFTZ) in Sprague-Dawley rats was determined. The density of the thiazide receptor was twofold higher (P < 0.001) in females than in males. Orchiectomy increased thiazide receptor significantly in one of two studies (P < 0.01). Ovariectomy decreased thiazide receptor by more than 20% (P < 0.01) in both studies. The rates of the urinary excretion of sodium and chloride after BFTZ and the increases in the urinary excretion of sodium, chloride, and ammonium caused by BFTZ were greater in intact females than in intact males; BFTZ decreased the urinary excretion of calcium 50% in intact females, but not in intact males. Regression analysis of the thiazide receptor (in intact and gonadectomized animals) versus the urinary excretion of electrolytes before and after BFTZ yielded a model in which one-third of the variation in thiazide receptor could be related to the change in the excretion of calcium and ammonium produced by BFTZ, raising the possibility that the density of the thiazide receptor might be related to calcium or acid-base homeostasis. It was concluded that the renal excretion of sodium, chloride, calcium, and ammonium are, in part, controlled by gender and sex hormones via their regulation of the renal density of the thiazide diuretic receptor.