Heterogeneity of bile pigments formed by the breakdown of haemoglobin in the isolated male-dog kidney.

Normothermic perfused isolated male-dog kidneys formed radioactive bile pigments by the breakdown of radioactive haemoglobin prepared from [2-14C]glycin. After column chromatographic separation and preparation of dipyrrolic azopigments, 86.3 +/- 2.2% of the bile pigments seemed to be conjugated bilirubin. Thin-layer chromatographic separation of the azopigments of ethyl anthranilate revealed a good correlation between photometric scanning, radiochromatographic scanning and the radioactivity of the azopigments scraped off the thin-layer glass plates and counted in a liquid scintillation counter. Although the same heterogenity of the azopigments was observed as in dog bile, the isolated male-dog kidney formed significantly less alpha2- and significantly more gamma-fractions.