Adenosine metabolism in kidney slices under normoxic conditions

Sodium intake markedly alters renal interstitial fluid adenosine

Adenosine is produced locally in the kidney. Accumulating data suggest that adenosine plays a role in regulating renal functions. Using a microdialysis technique, we monitored adenosine levels in cortical and medullary renal interstitial fluid and urine after 5 days of diets containing low (0.15%), normal (0.28%), and high (4.0%) sodium. Samples were collected from anesthetized rats (n=5 for each diet). Microdialysis fluid was infused at a rate of 1 microL/min. Adenosine, measured by radioimmunoassay, was stable in the dialysate. During normal sodium intake, renal interstitial fluid adenosine estimated from the concentration in dialysate leaving the cortex was 63 +/- 6 nmol/L, which was significantly lower than in dialysate leaving the medulla (157 +/- 6 nmol/L, P<.01). The concentration of interstitial medullary adenosine was estimated to be 190 nmol/L. In rats consuming a low sodium diet, renal cortical and medullary dialysate adenosine concentrations were significantly decreased (P<.01) by 62.6% and 64.9%, respectively. Rats consuming a high sodium diet had renal cortical and medullary dialysate adenosine concentrations that were increased 18.2- and 18.9-fold, respectively (P<.01), compared with levels in rats on a low sodium diet. Similar to changes in dialysate adenosine, urinary adenosine concentration decreased during low sodium intake (P<.01) and increased during high sodium intake (P<.01). The higher adenosine levels in renal medullary than in cortical interstitial fluid may reflect its major renal site of generation. The changes in renal adenosine generation with sodium intake may reflect renal energy expenditure.

Solubilization and molecular characterization of the nitrobenzylthioinosine binding sites from pig kidney brush-border membranes

The nitrobenzylthioinosine binding sites from luminal membranes of proximal tubule of pig kidney were solubilized by treatment of the brush-border membrane vesicles with the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate) in 2% solution. The high yield solubilization of a stable form of the transporter took place in the presence of adenosine in the medium of incubation with the detergent and the additional presence of glycerol as stabilizer. The solubilization of the NBTI-sensitive nucleoside transporter from pig kidney brush-border membranes did not change the nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBTI) binding characteristics; the only major change was a 3-fold decrease in the affinity. The carrier molecule was cross-linked to [3H]NBTI and by electrophoretic characterization under reducing conditions it displayed a molecular mass of 65 kDa. Treatment of the samples at low temperature prior to electrophoresis gave rise to the appearance of further bands corresponding to dimeric and tetrameric forms which interacted non-covalently. The removal of the N-linked oligosaccharides by treatment with endoglycosidase F shifted the molecular mass to 57 kDa. The chromatographic behaviour of the solubilized transporter was similar to that of human erythrocytes and differed from that found in pig erythrocytes. Since the molecular mass of the monomer before and after treatment with endoglycosidase F is the same for pig erythrocytes and pig kidney luminal membranes, the different chromatographic behaviour might result from tissue differences due to transcriptional variations or to posttranscriptional modifications of the transporter molecule.

Phosphorylation of adenosine in renal brush-border membrane vesicles by an exchange reaction catalysed by adenosine kinase

Uptake of [3H]adenosine in brush-border membrane (BBM) vesicles from either rat or pig kidney leads to an accumulation of intravesicular [3H]AMP. The lack of significant levels of ATP and the presence of AMP in BBM indicated that a phosphotransfer between [3H]adenosine and AMP occurs. The phosphotransfer activity is inhibited by iodotubercidin, which suggests that it is performed by adenosine kinase acting in an ATP-independent manner. The existence of a similar phosphotransferase activity was demonstrated in membrane-free extracts from pig kidney. From the compounds tested it was shown that a variety of mononucleotides could act as phosphate donors. The results suggest that phosphotransfer reactions may be physiologically relevant in kidney.

Adenine nucleotides and adenosine metabolism in pig kidney proximal tubule membranes

Exogenous adenosine triphosphate (ATP) added to brush-border membrane vesicles was rapidly degraded mainly to inosine according to the high ecto-nucleotidase activities in these vesicles. In the absence of phosphate, inosine was slowly transformed into hypoxanthine, and xanthine oxidase and dehydrogenase activities were not detected. The presence of ecto-adenosine deaminase and ecto-adenosine monophosphate (AMP) nucleotidase was shown. The ecto-adenosine deaminase was inhibited by deoxycoformycin and was also detected in rat renal brush-border membrane vesicles. Using orthovanadate, levamisole, and alpha, beta-methylene adenosine diphosphate as possible inhibitors, alkaline phosphatase was shown to be the main agent responsible for ecto-AMP nucleotidase activity. In pig renal basolateral membrane vesicles and in whole cell extracts from pig renal cortex, ecto-AMP nucleotidase was the limiting factor in ATP degradation. Comparing the ATP catabolism in the whole cell cortical extract with the catabolism in the same sample precleared of membranes, it was shown that ectonucleotidase activity is mainly bound to the membranous components. It is also shown that the whole cell extract of pig renal cortex has hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase activity, and it seems probable that the rapid and specific formation of luminal inosine and its transport into the cell in competition with adenosine may start the purine salvage pathway through the synthesis of IMP from hypoxanthine.