Mechanism of acidification along cortical distal tubule of the rat

The cellular mechanism of luminal acidification (bicarbonate reabsorption) was studied in cortical distal tubules of rat kidney. The stopped-flow microperfusion technique was applied to early distal (ED) and late distal (LD) segments, perfused with bicarbonate Ringer solution to which specific inhibitors were added, to measure bicarbonate reabsorption [HCO3 flux (JHCO3)]. pH and transepithelial potential difference (Vt) were recorded by double-barreled H+ exchange resin/reference (1 M KCl) electrodes. Amiloride increased stationary pH and reduced Vt in both early and late segments. Hexamethylene-amiloride (HMA), a specific Na(+)-H+ exchange blocker, reduced JHCO3 in both segments (ED by 43.6 and LD by 40.3%) without affecting Vt. Benzamil, an Na(+)-channel blocker, reduced Vt by 75.9 in ED and 74.9% in LD but had no significant effect on acidification in both segments. The specific inhibitor of H(+)-ATPase, bafilomycin A1, inhibited LD JHCO3 at a concentration of 2 x 10(-7) M by 49%, but ED was inhibited by 24% only at 2 x 10(-6) M. Sch-28080, an inhibitor of gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase, reduced JHCO3 by 35% in LD of K(+)-depleted rats but not in control rats and had no effect on ED. These data indicate that, in ED, bicarbonate reabsorption is mediated mostly by Na(+)-H+ exchange. In LD, there is evidence for contribution of Na(+)-H+ exchange, vacuolar H(+)-ATPase, and H(+)-K(+)-ATPase (in K(+)-depleted rats) to bicarbonate reabsorption.