Extracellular urea concentration modulates cAMP production in the mouse MTAL

Ionic reabsorption along the ascending limb of Henle's loop (TAL) is controlled by hormonal stimulation. Most of the hormones that affect this reabsorption regulate ionic transporter activity via cAMP, and some of these hormonal actions have been shown to be modulated by interstitial osmolarity. We studied the early effects of increasing extracellular urea concentration on the production of cAMP induced by arginine vasopressin (AVP) and forskolin in a suspension of medullary portions of TAL (MTAL) prepared from mouse kidney. The addition of urea, performed fifteen minutes before adenylyl cyclase stimulation, decreased both AVP- and forskolin-induced cAMP production. This effect, observed both in the presence and the absence of phosphodiesterase inhibition, was optimal with 300 mmol/liter urea. Addition of urea to the extracellular medium disturbed several cellular parameters, but the decrease in cAMP production appeared to be mediated by the activation of both the protein kinase A and a phosphatase rather than by the modifications in phospholipid metabolism. Since cAMP is the major cytosolic transductional factor in MTAL cells, urea present in the medullary interstitium may thus be considered as an important modulator of hormonal actions in this segment of the nephron.