Modulation of water transport in human red cells: effect of urea.

We have studied the effect of urea on water flux in the human red cell and have found that 500 mosmolal urea inhibits osmotic water transport by 39%. The Ki for urea inhibition of water flux is 550 +/- 80 mosmolal, higher than, but comparable with, the Km of urea transport into the red cell of 220-330 mM given by Mayrand and Levitt (J. Gen. Physiol. 55 (1983) 427) and Brahm (J. Gen. Physiol. 82 (1983) 1). Other amides, such as propionamide and valeramide, as well as methyl-substituted ureas, have similar effects, although an indifferent molecule, such as 0.5 M creatinine, has no effect. Urea can be washed off the inhibition site with buffer, and the effects of urea concentrations as high as 1.2 osmolal are entirely reversible. 500 mosmolal urea also significantly increases the reflection coefficient for ethylene glycol, sigma eth gly, from 0.71 +/- 0.03 in control experiments to 0.86 +/- 0.04 (P less than 0.0005, t-test), and propionamide has a similar effect on sigma eth gly. These results show that urea can modulate ethylene glycol transport through the red cell membrane, and are consistent with, but not proof of, the presence of a single class of aqueous channels through which both ethylene glycol and urea enter the red cell. It is suggested that the physiological purpose of these low-affinity urea sites is to modulate water flow out of the red cell during passage through the regions of 0.5-0.6 M urea in the kidney.