Depolarization-induced alkalinization in proximal tubules. II. Effects of lactate and SITS.

Intracellular pH and voltage microelectrodes were used to further characterize the depolarization-induced alkalinization (DIA) observed in isolated perfused proximal tubules of the tiger salamander Ambystoma tigrinum. Tubules were depolarized by raising basolateral [K+] from 2.5 to 50 mM. The solutions were air equilibrated and nominally HCO3- free (estimated [HCO3-] = 0.2 mM). In the preceding study we showed that the DIA is partially blocked by removal of Na+ from only the lumen or only the bath, but completely blocked by bilateral Na+ removal. In the present study we found that bilateral amiloride (1 mM) had no effect on the DIA, suggesting that Na-H exchange is not involved. In contrast, basolateral 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (SITS) (0.5 mM) partially blocked the DIA, presumably due to inhibition of one or more of three SITS-sensitive basolateral transporters present in amphibian proximal tubules: electrogenic Na-HCO3 cotransport, Na-dependent Cl-HCO3 exchange, and H-lactate cotransport. Bilateral removal of all organic substrates, or of only lactate (Lac-) also blocked the DIA partially. As shown elsewhere (A. W. Siebens, and W. F. Boron, J. Gen. Physiol. 90: 799-831, 1987), in the absence of depolarization, luminal Lac- causes a pHi increase due to luminal Lac- entry via a Na-Lac cotransporter, followed by basolateral Lac- exit via an H-Lac cotransporter sensitive to alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (CHC). Three lines of evidence indicate that this Na-Lac/H-Lac mechanism is involved in the DIA. 1) As noted previously, the DIA is partially blocked by luminal Na+ removal. 2) With the DIA partially blocked by basolateral SITS, removal of Lac- from only the lumen blocks the remainder of the DIA. 3) Basolateral CHC partially blocks the DIA. Our data suggest that the DIA is mediated by at least two additive mechanisms, a basolateral transporter that is SITS sensitive and Na+ dependent, and the Na-Lac/H-Lac transport system.