Response of ammonia metabolism to acute acidosis: insights from cultured renal epithelium.

LLC-PK1 kidney epithelial cell lines cultured under the condition of continuous rocking exhibit both acute and adaptive changes in glutamine-dependent ammonia metabolism in response to acid-base manipulations in the media pH. Pulse-chase studies with 14C-glutamine as well as studies with various metabolic inhibitors of the ammoniagenic pathways suggest that glutamine in LLC-PK1 cells is metabolized via mitochondrial pathway and that intramitochondrial phosphate-dependent glutaminase pathway plays a predominant role in the regulation of ammoniagenesis to acute acidosis. Furthermore, the measurements of intracellular pH under both basal and acute low pH conditions resulted in the estimation of intracellular pH, which paralleled the alterations in media pH. Therefore, a change in intracellular pH appears to act as a direct signal for alterations in ammonia metabolism in LLC-PK1 cells. Thus, LLC-PK1 cultures provide an excellent model system to investigate renal ammoniagenesis and the intracellular signals that modulate this process.