Effect of calcitonin on the regulation of intracellular pH in primary cultures of rabbit early distal tubule.

To examine the intracellular pH (pHi) regulation in primary cultures of rabbit distal convoluted tubules (DCTb) we used the pH-sensitive dye 2,7-bis-carboxyethyl-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF/AM) and a video-microscopy technique. DCTb segments were microdissected from rabbit kidney cortex and cultured in a hormonally defined medium. The culture epithelia were grown on semi-transparent permeable supports. Before pHi measurement, DCTb primary cultures were maintained for 48-96 h in growth-factor-free medium to obtain quiescent cells. We had previously shown that two mechanisms are involved in the regulation of intracellular pH: a basolateral Na+/H+ exchanger and an apical Cl-/HCO3- exchanger. The pHi of DCTb cells was significantly decreased by the addition of 60 nM human calcitonin (from 7.30 +/- 0.04 to 7.08 +/- 0.04). This response to calcitonin was dose-dependent and mimicked by both forskolin and permeant cyclic AMP derivatives. An initial acidification (of 0.25 pH unit in 7-8 min) was observed after the addition of basolateral amiloride (1 mM). The persistence of the effect induced by human calcitonin in these conditions, suggests that the Na+/H+ exchanger is not involved in the response. However, the acidification response was blocked in both the absence of chloride at the apical side and by the apical addition of 0.1 mM 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (DIDS). These experiments suggest that the target for the human calcitonin effect on pHi is the Cl-/HCO3- exchanger. This study confirms the importance of this transporter in pHi regulation within the physiological pHi range and the influence of calcitonin in the regulation of DCTb cell function.