Aldosterone binding in isolated tubules II. An autoradiographic study of concentration dependency in the rabbit nephron.

Specific binding of aldosterone along the rabbit nephron was investigated using an autoradiographic method on microdissected tubules within a large range of [3H]aldosterone ([3H]A) concentrations (3 X 10(-10) to 2 X 10(-8) M). Paired incubations with [3H]A in the presence or absence of unlabeled A (100-fold excess) were done to determine the specific binding. In addition, competition studies (10 times excess) with A, dexamethasone (Dex), and estradiol (E) were performed. No specific nuclear binding was detected in the proximal convoluted tubule and pars recta. In the cortical collecting tubule (CCT), a high specific labeling occurred at concentrations of A as low as 3 X 10(-10) M that plateaued at 1.5 X 10(-9) M. Aldosterone was the best competitor. In the bright and granular distal tubule, the binding resembled that of CCT, but Dex was nearly as potent a competitor as A. All along the loop of Henle and in the medullary collecting duct, the binding of A was weak at low concentrations and gradually rose with concentration without reaching a plateau. An almost equivalent displacement was obtained by A and Dex in 10-fold excess. We conclude that aldosterone binds mostly to mineralocorticoid sites in the collecting tubule, whereas the binding appears to be to both mineralo- and glucocorticoid sites in the distal tubule, in the different parts of the loop of Henle, and in the medullary collecting tubule.