Influence of chronic ADH treatment on adenylate cyclase and ATPase activity in distal nephron segments of diabetes insipidus Brattleboro rats

The medullary thick ascending limb (MAL), but not the medullary collecting tubule (MCT), has been shown to have an impaired adenylate cyclase (AC) responsiveness to ADH and a selective hypoplasia in Brattleboro diabetes insipidus (DI) rats. Since chronic ADH administration has been found to increase epithelium volume and basolateral membrane surface area in MAL but not in MCT, we investigated whether chronic ADH infusion would affect the hormone-sensitive AC and the Na–K-ATPase activity — two markers of the basolateral membrane — in single microdissected portions of thick ascending limb and collecting tubule in DI rats. Results indicate that 1. in MAL of ADH-treated rats, AC resposes to in vitro AVP and glucagon and Na–K-ATPase activity increased to the same extent as did epithelium volume (60–80%); 2. changes in the other segments were independent of any morphological alteration. In the cortical thick ascending limb, AVP and glucagonsensitive AC decreased by 30–40% whereas Na–K-ATPase activity did not change. In the collecting tubule, AC response to in vitro AVP was not altered by ADH-treatment but glucagon-sensitive AC dropped by 50% and Na–K-ATPase activity doubled, independently of any variation in plasma aldosterone and glucagon levels. These results show that, in the MAL, the ADH-induced variations in enzyme activity are a reflection of the enlargement of the basolateral membrane surface area. Further studies are needed to clarify the origin of enzymatic alterations in the other segments.