Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of mRNAs encoding a colonic putative H, K-ATPase alpha subunit along the rat nephron: effect of K+ depletion.

The rat nephron displays two ouabain-sensitive K-ATPases: one, which is present in proximal tubules and thick ascending limbs of normal rats, is specifically activated by K+ and is down-regulated by K+ depletion, whereas the other one appears in collecting ducts of K+-depleted rats and is activated by either Na+ or K+. To determine which of these two ATPases is similar to colonic-type H,K-ATPase, we quantitated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) the mRNAs encoding the colonic H,K-ATPase alpha subunit in microdissected nephron segments. In normal rats, statistically significant amounts of colonic H,K-ATPase mRNAs were detected exclusively in cortical thick ascending limbs and cortical collecting ducts (200-500 copies/mm). Because these levels of expression were low (1-1.2 copies/target cell), they probably have no physiological relevance. In rats fed a K+-depleted diet for 2 weeks, expression of colonic H,K-ATPase was markedly enhanced in cortical and medullary collecting ducts (5000-12,000 copies/mm or 30-40 copies per cell), whereas it remained low in all other nephron segments. Thus, colonic H,K-ATPase alpha subunit is specifically expressed in cortical and outer medullary collecting ducts of K+-depleted rats where it likely accounts for the ouabain-sensitive K-ATPase activity.