Vasopressin and collecting duct intramembranous particle clusters: a dose-response relationship.

Vasopressin increases the permeability of collecting ducts to water. Administration of this hormone is also associated with an increase in intramembranous particle clusters in rat collecting duct luminal membrane (CDLM) as revealed by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. To determine whether this morphologic alteration of CDLM is quantitatively related to the dose of vasopressin, anesthetized Brattleboro homozygous rats were given the hormone at different doses. CDLM from kidneys removed before and during infusion were examined by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The frequency of CDLM clusters as well as the area of membrane occupied by them was related to the dose of vasopressin. In a separate experimental protocol, a decrease in intramembranous particle clusters accompanied a decrease in urinary osmolality when vasopressin was stopped. We conclude that CDLM intramembranous particle clusters represent a specific structural change related to the action of vasopressin. Accordingly, quantitation of CDLM clusters may serve as an end point for the study of vasopressin-induced water permeability.