Effect of Acute Metabolic Acidosis on the Levels of some Metabolic Intermediates in the Rat Kidney

Abstract

Rats were sacrificed 30 min, 1 and 2 h after a single dose of ammonium chloride and metabolite levels were measured in quick frozen kidneys. The most striking finding was the early depression of glutamate, 2-oxoglutarate, malate, phosphoenolpyruvate and glycerol-3-phosphate. At the end of 2 h, 2-oxoglutarate and malate still remained depressed but glutamate, phosphoenolpyruvate and glycerol-3-phosphate had returned to normal levels. The results cannot be explained on the basis of acceleration or inhibition of a single enzyme but possibly represent a general effect of pH and/or bicarbonate.