Absence of vacuolar H(+)-ATPase pump in the collecting duct of a patient with hypokalemic distal renal tubular acidosis and Sjögren's syndrome

Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a common complication of autoimmune connective tissue diseases. The underlying pathophysiology of renal tubular acidosis in these syndromes is frequently characterized by impaired hydrogen ion secretion, i.e., secretory defect dRTA. However, the precise molecular events leading to this disturbance remain poorly understood. An opportunity was recently afforded to examine the ultrastructural features of the collecting duct in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome and secretory defect dRTA. Immunocytochemical analysis of a renal biopsy obtained 12 months after the patient's initial presentation demonstrated a complete absence of vacuolar H(+)-ATPase in the collecting duct. Antibodies to the 31- and 56-kd kidney-specific subunits of the H(+)-ATPase pump were used to characterize pump distribution. Interestingly, although antiserum to the CI-:HCO3- anion exchanger (band-3 protein) reacted strongly with normal human kidney and the patient's red blood cells, no immunoreactivity was observed in the patient's collecting duct epithelium. Importantly, electron microscopy of the patient's renal biopsy specimen disclosed cells that ultrastructurally were indistinguishable from intercalated cells. These results suggest that the functional basis of impaired hydrogen ion secretion in this patient was secondary to the absence of intact H(+)-ATPase pumps rather than defective pump function or distribution. The presence of intercalated cells ultrastructurally, but the absence of discernible staining for band-3 protein and H(+)-ATPase, also suggests that the defect in proton secretion may represent a defect involving the assembly of at least two of the ion transport pumps essential for the normal maintenance of acid-base homeostasis by the intercalated cells.