Renal tubular excretion of triethylcholine (TEC) in the chicken: enhancement and inhibition of renal excretion of choline and acetylcholine by TEC

A modified Sperber technique for direct estimation of true renal tubular excretion fraction

The Sperber technique in the hen is particularly suitable for the study of renal tubular secretion. However, results obtained with this technique vary considerably, due to an unpredictable and highly variable shunting of renal portal blood. In an attempt to get a total and stable renal perfusion by portal blood from the leg, appropriate shunt vessels were ligated. This procedure was found to force all portal blood from the leg to perfuse the ligated kidney, without affecting the symmetry of glomerular filtration or renal clearance of 125-I-Na-o-iodohippurate between the kidneys. In conclusion, the abolition of renal portal shunt flow allows use of the Sperber technique for a direct estimation of the true tubular excretion fraction (TTEF) of a substance. Thus, TTEFPAH, a measure of the tubular excretion efficiency of para-amino-hippuric acid, was found to be about 70%. The stable renal perfusion in ligated animals will also facilitate comparative studies of renal tubular excretion in the hen. Moreover, no animal has to be rejected due to a low renal perfusion of portal blood. Furthermore, the use of ligated hens makes it unnecessary to use markers for the renal perfusion of portal blood when steady-state experiments are performed. Finally, the total renal perfusion of portal blood in ligated animals will facilitate the demonstration of a secretory component in the renal handling of substances with a low affinity for the renal transport system.

The effect of preganglionic nerve stimulation on the accumulation of certain analogues of choline by a sympathetic ganglion

1. Cat superior cervical ganglia were perfused with a Krebs solution containing 10(-6) M [3H]homocholine (2-hydroxypropyl-trimethylammonium) or 10(-5) M [14C]triethylcholine (2-hydroxyethyl-triethylammonium). Preganglionic nerve stimulation (20 Hz) increased the accumulation of homocholine (3-2-fold) and of triethylcholine (2-1-fold). This increased accumulation during stimulation was not the result of increased metabolism. 2. The increased accumulation of homocholine or triethylcholine induced by pregnaglionic nerve stimulation was not reduced by tubocurarine or by atropine, but it was blocked by choline and by hemicholinium. These results suggested that preganglionic nerve stimulation increased choline analogue accumulation into cholinergic nerve terminals. 3. The increased accumulation of homocholine or of triethylcholine induced by preganglionic nerve stimulation was reduced when the Ca2+ concentration was reduced and was abolished in the absence of Ca2+. However, changes in the Mg2+ concentration which depressed acetylcholine (ACh) release by amounts comparable to those induced by altered Ca2+ concentrations did not alter the uptake of homocholine or triethylcholine. It is concluded that the uptake of choline analogues is not regulated by transmitter release but that stimulation increases the uptake of the choline analogues by a Ca2+-dependent mechanism. 4. The accumulation of ACh by ganglia perfused with a Krebs solution containing choline and high MgSO4 (18 mM) was measured. The ACh content of these ganglia did not increase, although choline transport presumably exceeded that necessary for ACh synthesis to replace released ACh. It is concluded that choline transport does not limit ACh synthesis in ganglia.