Membrane fluidity and sodium transport by renal membranes from dogs with spontaneous idiopathic Fanconi syndrome

To comprehend the renal defect underlying the idiopathic Fanconi syndrome in the basenji dog, we have used isolated renal brush border membrane vesicles to examine two factors that influence membrane nonelectrolyte transport processes, sodium flux and membrane fluidity. We have found that there is no significant difference in the rate of uptake of 100 mmol/L 22Na + and conclude that the previously observed defects in the sodium gradient-stimulated overshoot of glucose and of proline are not related to an alteration in the flux of sodium at physiological concentrations. Since carrier proteins exist in a lipid milieu, alteration in the physical state of the lipid membrane can determine transport function. Renal brush border preparations from normal and affected animals were studied by measuring fluorescence polarization to assess differences in the physical state of the membranes using the fluorescent probe, DPH, which quantitates inner core membrane fluidity. Membranes from affected dogs consistently showed a higher fluidity as measured by eta, a parameter of DPH fluorescence polarization. Since membrane fluidity is related to lipid composition, the data suggest that there may be an important alteration in the lipids in renal membranes of affected animals.