Inner Medullary Collecting Duct Suspensions Research Articles

Epac Regulation of Urea Transport and the UT‐A1 Urea Transporter in Rat Inner Medullary Collecting Duct.

Urea is critical to the urinary concentrating mechanism and to the regulation of water balance. Vasopressin, through cAMP, stimulates urea transport across perfused rat terminal inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCD) by increasing UT‐A1 phosphorylation and membrane accumulation. Cyclic AMP is known to act through protein kinase A (PKA); however, it can also activate Epac (exchange protein activated by cAMP). We tested whether Epac is involved in regulation of urea transport and UT‐A1 transporter activity in rat IMCD. Functional analysis showed that the Epac activator, Sp‐8‐pCPT‐2 O‐Me‐cAMPS, significantly increased urea permeability in isolated, perfused rat terminal IMCDs by 29%. Incubation of rat IMCD suspensions with the Epac activator significantly increased UT‐A1 in the plasma membrane (biotinylated UT‐A1) and UT‐A1 phosphorylation. To further explore the signaling pathway, we tested whether forskolin could stimulate ERK 1/2 phosphorylation. Forskolin increased ERK 1/2 phosphorylation 25%; this increase was not inhibited by a PKA inhibitor, H‐89, indicating that ERK 1/2 phosphorylation was through Epac. The MEK 1/2 inhibitor, U0126, inhibited forskolin‐stimulated UT‐A1 phosphorylation. We conclude that activation of Epac increases urea transport, UT‐A1 phosphorylation, and UT‐A1 plasma membrane accumulation. The increase in UT‐A1 phosphorylation is mediated by the MEK‐ERK pathway.

LC-MS/MS analysis of differential centrifugation fractions from native inner medullary collecting duct of rat

We carried out LC-MS/MS-based proteomic profiling of differential centrifugation fractions from rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD): 1) to provide baseline knowledge of the IMCD proteome and 2) to evaluate the utility of differential centrifugation in assessing trafficking of the water channel aquaporin-2 (AQP2). IMCD suspensions were freshly prepared from rat kidneys using standard methods. Homogenized samples were subjected to sequential centrifugations at 1,000, 4,000, 17,000, and 200,000 g. These samples, as well as the final supernatant, were subjected to LC-MS/MS analysis. Preliminary immunoblotting confirmed that the ratio of AQP2 in the 17,000-g fraction to the 200,000-g fraction underwent an increase in response to the vasopressin analog dDAVP, largely due to a reduction in the 200,000-g fraction. Immunoblotting for the major phosphorylated forms of AQP2 revealed that phosphorylated AQP2 was present in both the 17,000- and 200,000-g fractions. LC-MS/MS analysis showed that markers of "intracellular vesicles," chiefly endosomal markers, were present in both the 17,000- and the 200,000-g fractions. In contrast, plasma membrane proteins were predominantly present in the 4,000- and 17,000-g fractions. Proteins associated with several multiprotein complexes (e.g., actin-related protein 2/3 complex and proteasome complex) were virtually exclusively present in the 200,000-g fraction. Overall, we identified 656 proteins, including 189 not previously present in the IMCD database. The data show that both the 17,000- and 200,000-g fractions are highly heterogeneous and cannot be equated with "plasma membrane" and "intracellular vesicle" fractions, respectively, leading us to propose an alternative approach for use of differential centrifugation to assess vesicular trafficking to the plasma membrane.

Vasopressin-stimulated Increase in Phosphorylation at Ser269 Potentiates Plasma Membrane Retention of Aquaporin-2

Vasopressin controls water excretion through regulation of aquaporin-2 (AQP2) trafficking in renal collecting duct cells. Using mass spectrometry, we previously demonstrated four phosphorylated serines (Ser256, Ser261, Ser264, and Ser269) in the carboxyl-terminal tail of rat AQP2. Here, we used phospho-specific antibodies and protein mass spectrometry to investigate the roles of vasopressin and cyclic AMP in the regulation of phosphorylation at Ser269 and addressed the role of this site in AQP2 trafficking. The V2 receptor-specific vasopressin analog dDAVP increased Ser(P)269-AQP2 abundance more than 10-fold, but at a rate much slower than the corresponding increase in Ser256 phosphorylation. Vasopressin-mediated changes in phosphorylation at both sites were mimicked by cAMP addition and inhibited by protein kinase A (PKA) antagonists. In vitro kinase assays, however, demonstrated that PKA phosphorylates Ser256, but not Ser269. Phosphorylation of AQP2 at Ser269 did not occur when Ser256 was replaced by an unphosphorylatable amino acid, as seen in both S256L-AQP2 mutant mice and in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells expressing an S256A mutant, suggesting that Ser269 phosphorylation depends upon prior phosphorylation at Ser256. Immunogold electron microscopy localized Ser(P)269-AQP2 solely in the apical plasma membrane of rat collecting duct cells, in contrast to the other three phospho-forms (found in both apical plasma membrane and intracellular vesicles). Madin-Darby canine kidney cells expressing an S269D "phosphomimic" AQP2 mutant showed constitutive localization at the plasma membrane. The data support a model in which vasopressin-mediated phosphorylation of AQP2 at Ser269:(a) depends on prior PKA-mediated phosphorylation of Ser256 and (b) enhances apical plasma membrane retention of AQP2.

Urea transporters UT-A1 and UT-A3 accumulate in the plasma membrane in response to increased hypertonicity

The UT-A1 and UT-A3 urea transporters are expressed in the terminal inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) and play an important role in the production of concentrated urine. We showed that both hyperosmolarity and vasopressin increase urea permeability in perfused rat terminal IMCDs and that UT-A1 and UT-A3 accumulate in the plasma membrane in response to vasopressin. In this study, we investigated whether hyperosmolarity causes UT-A1 and/or UT-A3 to accumulate in the plasma membrane or represents a complimentary stimulatory pathway. Rat IMCD suspensions were incubated in 450 vs. 900 mosM solutions. We biotinylated the IMCD surface proteins, collected, and analyzed them. Membrane accumulation was assessed by Western blotting of the biotinylated protein pool probed with anti-UT-A1 or anti-UT-A3. We studied the effect of NaCl, urea, and sucrose as osmotic agents. Membrane-associated UT-A1 and UT-A3 increased relative to control levels when either NaCl (UT-A1 increased 37 +/- 6%; UT-A3 increased 46 +/- 13%) or sucrose (UT-A1 increased 81 +/- 13%; UT-A3 increased 60 +/- 8%) was used to increase osmolarity. There was no increase in membrane UT-A1 or UT-A3 when urea was added. Analogously, UT-A1 phosphorylation was increased in NaCl- and sucrose- but not in urea-based hyperosmolar solutions. Hypertonicity also increased UT-A3 phosphorylation. We conclude that the increase in the urea permeability in response to hyperosmolarity reflects both UT-A1 and UT-A3 movement to the plasma membrane and may be a direct response to tonicity. Furthermore, this movement is accompanied by, and may require, increased phosphorylation in response to hypertonicity.

NKCC1 Is Phosphorylated in Rat Inner Medullary Collecting Duct (IMCD)

Previously, we demonstrated a bumetanide‐inhibitable increase in IMCD cell height in response to vasopressin (AVP) in isolated perfused tubules in which the bath osmolality was increased to 490 mOsm (lumen 290 mOsm). This suggests that AVP induced cell swelling was not due to apical water entry, but rather basolateral solute uptake via NKCC1, followed by water entry. To address the role of NKCC1 we used an N‐terminal directed antibody recognizing total NKCC1 (α‐NT) and a phospho‐directed antibody targeted to Thr‐212 and Thr‐217 in the N‐terminal tail of human NKCC1 (R5). Using the α‐NT antibody for immunofluorescence, we confirmed that NKCC1 is localized to the basolateral membrane of the rat IMCD cell. To test if NKCC1 is phosphorylated, we used the R5 phospho‐antibody in immunoblotting. The antibody recognized 170 and 150 kDa bands in IMCD suspensions under control conditions (290 mOsm). Hypertonicity (490 mOsm) caused the band density of the lower band to increase by 2‐fold (P<0.05, n=3). There was no obvious change in mobility of proteins recognized by a COOH‐tail antibody. A dephosphorylation experiment using λ‐phosphatase confirmed that the R5 antibody recognized only phosphorylated proteins. AVP alone did not change the band pattern with the R5 antibody. We conclude that in IMCD cells NKCC1 is a phospho‐protein and that hypertonicity affects the mobility or phosphorylation state of the NKCC1 phosphoprotein.

Vasopressin Increases Plasma Membrane Accumulation of Urea Transporter UT-A1 in Rat Inner Medullary Collecting Ducts

Urea transport, mediated by the urea transporter A1 (UT-A1) and/or UT-A3, is important for the production of concentrated urine. Vasopressin rapidly increases urea transport in rat terminal inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCD). A previous study showed that one mechanism for rapid regulation of urea transport is a vasopressin-induced increase in UT-A1 phosphorylation. This study tests whether vasopressin or directly activating adenylyl cyclase with forskolin also increases UT-A1 accumulation in the plasma membrane of rat IMCD. Inner medullas were harvested from rats 45 min after injection with vasopressin or vehicle. UT-A1 abundance in the plasma membrane was significantly increased in the membrane fraction after differential centrifugation and in the biotinylated protein population. Vasopressin and forskolin each increased the amount of biotinylated UT-A1 in rat IMCD suspensions that were treated ex vivo. The observed changes in the plasma membrane are specific, as the amount of biotinylated UT-A1 but not the calcium-sensing receptor was increased by forskolin. Next, whether forskolin or the V(2)-selective agonist dDAVP would increase apical membrane expression of UT-A1 in MDCK cells that were stably transfected with UT-A1 (UT-A1-MDCK cells) was tested. Forskolin and dDAVP significantly increased UT-A1 abundance in the apical membrane in UT-A1-MDCK cells. It is concluded that vasopressin and forskolin increase UT-A1 accumulation in the plasma membrane in rat IMCD and in the apical plasma membrane of UT-A1-MDCK cells. These findings suggest that vasopressin regulates urea transport by increasing UT-A1 accumulation in the plasma membrane and/or UT-A1 phosphorylation.

LC-MS/MS Analysis of Apical and Basolateral Plasma Membranes of Rat Renal Collecting Duct Cells

We used biotinylation and streptavidin affinity chromatography to label and enrich proteins from apical and basolateral membranes of rat kidney inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs) prior to LC-MS/MS protein identification. To enrich apical membrane proteins and bound peripheral membrane proteins, IMCDs were perfusion-labeled with primary amine-reactive biotinylation reagents at 2 degrees C using a double barreled pipette. The perfusion-biotinylated proteins and proteins bound to them were isolated with CaptAvidin-agarose beads, separated with SDS-PAGE, and sliced into continuous gel pieces for LC-MS/MS protein identification (LTQ, Thermo Electron Corp.). 17 integral and glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked membrane proteins and 44 non-integral membrane proteins were identified. Immunofluorescence confocal microscopy confirmed ACVRL1, H(+)/K(+)-ATPase alpha1, NHE2, and TauT expression in the IMCDs. Basement membrane and basolateral membrane proteins were biotinylated via incubation of IMCD suspensions with biotinylation reagents on ice. 23 integral and GPI-linked membrane proteins and 134 non-integral membrane proteins were identified. Analyses of non-integral membrane proteins preferentially identified in the perfusion-biotinylated and not in the incubation-biotinylated IMCDs revealed protein kinases, scaffold proteins, SNARE proteins, motor proteins, small GTP-binding proteins, and related proteins that may be involved in vasopressin-stimulated AQP2, UT-A1, and ENaC regulation. A World Wide Web-accessible database was constructed of 222 membrane proteins (integral and GPI-linked) from this study and prior studies.

Calmodulin Is Required for Vasopressin-stimulated Increase in Cyclic AMP Production in Inner Medullary Collecting Duct

Calmodulin plays a critical role in regulation of renal collecting duct water permeability by vasopressin. However, specific targets for calmodulin action have not been thoroughly addressed. In the present study, we investigated whether Ca2+/calmodulin regulates adenylyl cyclase activity in the renal inner medullary collecting duct. Rat inner medullary collecting duct suspensions were incubated in the presence or absence of 0.1 nM vasopressin and the calmodulin inhibitors, monodansylcadaverine, W-7, and trifluoperazine, followed by measurement of cAMP. Vasopressin-stimulated cAMP elevation was significantly attenuated in the presence of calmodulin inhibitors. Analysis of transglutaminase 2 knock-out mice confirmed that these compounds were not acting through inhibition of transglutaminase 2 activity. Calmodulin inhibitors also blocked both cholera toxin- and forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation. In isolated perfused tubules, W-7 reversibly blocked vasopressin-stimulated urea permeability, a process that requires a rise in intracellular cAMP but does not appear to involve protein trafficking to the apical plasma membrane. These results suggest that calmodulin is required for vasopressin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in the intact inner medullary collecting duct. Reverse transcription-PCR, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of the calmodulin-sensitive adenylyl cyclase type 3 in the rat collecting duct, an isoform previously not known to be expressed in the collecting duct. Long-term treatment of Brattleboro rats with a vasopressin analog markedly decreased adenylyl cyclase type 3 protein abundance, providing an explanation for long-term down-regulation of vasopressin response in the collecting duct. These studies demonstrate the importance of calmodulin in the regulation of collecting duct adenylyl cyclase activity and transport function.

Non-muscle Myosin II and Myosin Light Chain Kinase Are Downstream Targets for Vasopressin Signaling in the Renal Collecting Duct

We have previously demonstrated that vasopressin increases the water permeability of the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) by inducing trafficking of aquaporin-2 to the apical plasma membrane and that this response is dependent on intracellular calcium mobilization and calmodulin activation. Here, we address the hypothesis that this water permeability response is mediated in part through activation of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and regulation of non-muscle myosin II. Immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry demonstrated the presence of MLCK, the myosin regulatory light chain (MLC), and the IIA and IIB isoforms of the non-muscle myosin heavy chain in rat IMCD cells. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry identified two isoforms of MLC, both of which also exist in phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms. 32P incubation of the inner medulla followed by autoradiography of two-dimensional gels demonstrated increased 32P labeling of both isoforms in response to the V2 receptor agonist [deamino-Cys1,D-Arg8]vasopressin (DDAVP). Time course studies of MLC phosphorylation in IMCD suspensions (using immunoblotting with anti-phospho-MLC antibodies) showed that the increase in phosphorylation could be detected as early as 30 s after exposure to vasopressin. The MLCK inhibitor ML-7 blocked the DDAVP-induced MLC phosphorylation and substantially reduced [Arg8]vasopressin (AVP)-stimulated water permeability. AVP-induced MLC phosphorylation was associated with a rearrangement of actin filaments (Alexa Fluor 568-phalloidin) in primary cultures of IMCD cells. These results demonstrate that MLC phosphorylation by MLCK represents a downstream effect of AVP-activated calcium/calmodulin signaling in IMCD cells and point to a role for non-muscle myosin II in regulation of water permeability by vasopressin.

P2Y2 receptor-stimulated release of prostaglandin E2 by rat inner medullary collecting duct preparations.

Extracellular nucleotides, acting through the P2Y2 receptor and the associated phosphoinositide-Ca2+ signaling pathway, inhibit AVP-stimulated osmotic water permeability in rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD). Because a rise in intracellular Ca2+ is frequently associated with enhanced arachidonic acid metabolism, we examined the effect of activation of the P2Y2 receptor on release of PGE2 in freshly prepared rat IMCD suspensions. Unstimulated IMCD released moderate, but significant, amounts of PGE2, which were more sensitive to cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 than COX-1 inhibition. Agonist activation of P2Y2 receptor by adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) enhanced release of PGE2 from IMCD in a time- and concentration-dependent fashion. Purinergic-stimulated release of PGE2 was completely blocked by nonspecific COX inhibitors (flurbiprofen and 2-acetoxyphenylhept-2-ynyl sulfide). Differential COX inhibition studies revealed that purinergic-stimulated release of PGE2 was more sensitive to a COX-1-specific inhibitor (valeroyl salicylate) than a COX-2-specific inhibitor (NS-398). Thus purinergic stimulation resulted in significantly more release of PGE2 in the presence of COX-2 inhibitor than COX-1 inhibitor. If it is assumed that increased release of PGE2 is related to its increased production, our results suggest that purinergic stimulation of IMCD results in enhanced production and release of PGE2 in a COX-1-dependent fashion. Because PGE2 is known to affect transport of water, salt, and urea in IMCD, interaction of the purinergic system with the prostanoid system in IMCD can modulate handling of water, salt, and urea by IMCD and, thus, may constitute an AVP-independent regulatory mechanism.

Down-regulation of urea transporters in the renal inner medulla of lithium-fed rats

Lithium is commonly used to treat bipolar psychiatric disorders but can cause reduced urine concentrating ability. To test whether lithium alters UT-A1 or UT-B urea transporter protein abundance or UT-A1 phosphorylation, rats were fed a standard diet supplemented with LiCl for 10 or 25 days, and then compared to pair-fed control rats. To investigate another potential mechanism for decreased urea transport, inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) suspensions from lithium-fed or control rats were incubated with 32P-orthophosphate to measure the phosphorylation of UT-A1. In lithium-fed rats (25 days), UT-A1 abundance was reduced to 50% of control rats in IM tip and to 25% in IM base, and UT-B abundance was reduced to 40% in IM base. Aquaporin-2 (AQP2) protein abundance was reduced in both IM regions. Vasopressin (100 pmol/L) increased UT-A1 phosphorylation in IMCD suspensions from control but not from lithium-fed rats; a higher vasopressin concentration (100 nmol/L) increased UT-A1 phosphorylation in control and lithium-fed rats. Decreases in UT-A1, UT-B, and AQP2 protein abundance, and/or vasopressin-stimulated phosphorylation of UT-A1, can contribute to the reduced urine concentrating ability that occurs in lithium-treated rats.

Vasopressin rapidly increases phosphorylation of UT-A1 urea transporter in rat IMCDs through PKA.

The UT-A1 urea transporter plays an important role in maintaining the hyperosmolar milieu of the inner medulla. Vasopressin increases urea permeability in rat terminal inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs) within 5-10 min. To elucidate the mechanism, IMCD suspensions were radiolabeled with [(32)P]orthophosphate. UT-A1 was immunoprecipitated and analyzed by autoradiogram and Western blot. Both the 97- and 117-kDa UT-A1 proteins were phosphorylated. Vasopressin treatment increased the phosphorylation of both UT-A1 proteins at 2 min, which peaked at 5-10 min and remained elevated for up to 30 min. There was a discernable increase in UT-A1 phosphorylation with 10 pM and a 50% increase with 10-100 nM vasopressin. 1-Desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (dDAVP) or 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP (CPT-cAMP) also increased UT-A1 phosphorylation. The vasopressin-stimulated increase in UT-A1 phosphorylation was blocked by H-89 or a specific peptide inhibitor of protein kinase A. Phosphatase inhibitors (okadaic acid, calyculin) increased UT-A1 phosphorylation. We conclude that vasopressin increases UT-A1 phosphorylation via protein kinase A within 2-5 min in rat IMCDs. This suggests that phosphorylation of UT-A1 may be the mechanism by which vasopressin rapidly increases urea permeability in vivo.

Vasopressin regulates apical targeting of aquaporin-2 but not of UT1 urea transporter in renal collecting duct.

In the renal inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD), vasopressin regulates two key transporters, namely aquaporin-2 (AQP2) and the vasopressin-regulated urea transporter (VRUT). Both are present in intracellular vesicles as well as the apical plasma membrane. Short-term regulation of AQP2 has been demonstrated to occur by vasopressin-induced trafficking of AQP2-containing vesicles to the apical plasma membrane. Here, we have carried out studies to determine whether short-term regulation of VRUT occurs by a similar process. Cell surface labeling with NHS-LC-biotin in rat IMCD suspensions revealed that vasopressin causes a dose-dependent increase in the amount of AQP2 labeled at the cell surface, whereas VRUT labeled at the cell surface did not increase in response to vasopressin. Immunoperoxidase labeling of inner medullary thin sections from Brattleboro rats treated with 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) for 20 min revealed dramatic translocation of AQP2 to the apical region of the cell, with no change in the cellular distribution of VRUT. In addition, differential centrifugation of inner medullary homogenates from Brattleboro rats treated with DDAVP for 60 min revealed a marked depletion of AQP2 from the low-density membrane fraction (enriched in intracellular vesicles) but did not alter the quantity of VRUT in this fraction. Finally, AQP2-containing vesicles immunoisolated from a low-density membrane fraction from renal inner medulla did not contain immunoreactive VRUT. Thus vasopressin-mediated regulation of AQP2, but not of VRUT, depends on regulated vesicular trafficking to the plasma membrane.

Escape from vasopressin-induced antidiuresis: role of vasopressin resistance of the collecting duct.

Previously, we demonstrated that escape from vasopressin-induced antidiuresis ("vasopressin escape") in rats is associated with a large, selective decrease in whole kidney expression of aquaporin-2, the vasopressin-regulated water channel. Here, we show that isolated perfused inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs) from vasopressin-escape rats desamino-[D-arginine]vasopressin (DDAVP)/water-loaded have dramatically reduced vasopressin-dependent osmotic water permeabilities [46% of control rats (DDAVP alone)], which coincides with a fall in inner medullary aquaporin-2 protein abundance as measured by immunoblotting in the opposite kidney. Furthermore, we demonstrate in IMCD suspensions that cAMP accumulation in response to DDAVP is substantially reduced in the vasopressin-escape rats both in the presence and absence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX. By immunoblotting, we show that the abundance of two proteins important in cAMP generation: the stimulatory heterotrimeric G protein subunit Gs and adenylyl cyclase type VI, do not change. We conclude that vasopressin escape is associated with relative vasopressin resistance of the collecting duct cells manifested by decreased intracellular cAMP levels. The decreased cAMP levels can contribute to the demonstrated decrease in collecting duct water permeability in two ways: 1) by causing a decrease in aquaporin-2 expression and 2) by limiting the acute action of vasopressin to increase collecting duct water permeability.

Phosphoinositide signaling in rat inner medullary collecting duct.

Previous studies in microdissected rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) segments have demonstrated that carbachol, arginine vasopressin (AVP), and the V2 vasopressin receptor agonist 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) induce a similar increase in intracellular Ca2+. The present study tested whether these agents activate the phosphoinositide hydrolysis pathway. In intracellular inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) measurements, we found that IMCD suspensions incubated with AVP or DDAVP (10(-8) M) displayed no measurable increase in IP3, whereas IMCD suspensions incubated with the muscarinic cholinergic agent carbachol (100 microM) induced a significant increase in IP3 production. Similarly, carbachol, but not AVP or DDAVP, induced a significant increase in membrane-associated protein kinase C (PKC) enzyme activity. To test what specific PKC isoforms are activated by carbachol in IMCD, we first characterized the PKC isoforms in IMCD suspensions by immunoblotting using affinity-purified antibodies against different PKC isoforms. We identified one classic PKC isoform (alpha), three novel PKC isoforms (delta, epsilon, eta), and one atypical PKC isoform (zeta) in the IMCD. Carbachol induced a cytosol-to-membrane translocation of the PKC-eta isoform but did not alter the distribution of any other isoform. In contrast, AVP had no effect on the distribution of any PKC isoform tested. These data, taken together, demonstrate that carbachol is an activator of the phosphoinositide hydrolysis pathway in IMCD but do not demonstrate signaling via this pathway in response to AVP or DDAVP. These results suggest that the previously observed AVP-stimulated Ca2+ mobilization in IMCD may be due to a mechanism other than activation of the phosphoinositide hydrolysis pathway.

Evidence for dual signaling pathways for V2 vasopressin receptor in rat inner medullary collecting duct.

Previous studies have demonstrated that both the V2-receptor agonist, 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (dDAVP), and the V1a-receptor agonist, [Phe2, Orn8]vasotocin (PO-VT), increase intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in the rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD). The present studies were done to clarify the receptor subtype(s) responsible for calcium mobilization. Measurements of [Ca2+]i, using fura 2 in microdissected IMCD segments, confirmed that arginine vasopressin (AVP), dDAVP, and PO-VT stimulate an increase in [Ca2+]i and that the response to all three agents could be blocked by the specific V2-receptor antagonist, [d(CH2)5(1),D-Ile2, Ile4, Arg8]vasopressin (II-VP). These results would suggest that all three agents acted through the V2 receptor. Furthermore, we showed that PO-VT increased cAMP production in IMCD suspensions and water permeability in isolated perfused tubules. These responses were also blocked by II-VP, indicating that PO-VT is also a V2 agonist in the IMCD. Finally, we utilized the quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique of Wiesner (Nucleic Acids Res. 20: 5863-5864, 1992) to evaluate V1a and V2 mRNA levels in rat collecting duct. In terminal IMCD, we estimated > 30 copies/cell for V2 receptor mRNA but less than 1 copy/cell of V1a receptor mRNA, thus there is littler or no V1a mRNA expression in the terminal IMCD. These results suggest that calcium mobilization in response to vasopressin analogues is associated with the V2 receptor and that the V2 receptor is linked to both adenylyl cyclase and calcium mobilization in the rat IMCD.

Extracellular nucleotide receptor inhibits AVP-stimulated water permeability in inner medullary collecting duct

The P2u class of nucleotide receptors is linked to mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ in many cell types, including the renal collecting duct cells. In the present studies, we examined the effects of nucleotides (ATP, UTP, and ADP; 10 microM each) on the arginine vasopressin (AVP, 0.1 nM)-stimulated osmotic water permeability (Pf) in in vitro perfused terminal inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCD) of rat. ATP or UTP, when added to the bath, decreased the AVP-stimulated Pf by approximately 40%. These effects were reversible upon withdrawal of the nucleotides. However, addition of ADP to the bath or sham exchange of the bath had no significant effect on the Pf. Furthermore, ATP did not have any significant effect on the Pf stimulated either by a membrane-permeant, nonhydrolyzable adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) analogue [8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP, 0.1 mM] o by forskolin (1 microM). In line with these findings, ATP decreased the AVP-stimulated cAMP levels in IMCD suspensions to approximately 68%. In addition, ATP did not exert an inhibitory effect on the AVP-stimulated Pf in the presence of calphostin C (150 nM), an inhibitor of protein kinase C. These results lead us to conclude the following: 1) agonist occupancy of the putative nucleotide receptor in the terminal IMCD causes an inhibition of AVP-stimulated Pf; and 2) this effect is due to a decrease in cellular cAMP levels, most likely resulting from activation of the phosphoinositide signaling pathway.

Oxytocin as an antidiuretic hormone. II. Role of V2 vasopressin receptor

We conducted this study to determine what receptor mediates the effect of oxytocin to increase osmotic water permeability (Pf) in the rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiments demonstrated that mRNA for both the oxytocin receptor and the V2 receptor is present in the rat terminal IMCD. In isolated perfused IMCD segments, we found that the V2 vasopressin receptor antagonist [d(CH2)5(1),D-Ile2,Ile4,Arg8]vasopressin, but not oxytocin receptor antagonists, blocked the hydrosmotic response to 200 pM oxytocin. The selective oxytocin receptor agonist [Thr4,Gly7]oxytocin did not increase water permeability. Oxytocin also increased urea permeability in IMCD segments. Studies in IMCD suspensions showed that oxytocin increases adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate production in a dose-dependent fashion with a half-maximal (EC50) response at 5.2 nM. The dose-response curves were virtually identical for IMCD suspensions from Sprague-Dawley rats and Brattleboro rats. The oxytocin dose-response curve was displaced to the right of the vasopressin dose-response curve (EC50, 0.44 nM). From these results, we conclude that the V2 receptor mediates the hydrosmotic action of oxytocin in rat IMCD.