The influence of intracellular sodium activity on the transport of glucose in proximal tubule of frog kidney

Inhibition of basolateral Na+/K+ ATPase by ouabain eventually abolishes transport of glucose. The present study was performed to test, if this effect is due to a dissipation of the electrochemical gradient for sodium or due to a regulatory inhibition of sodium-coupled glucose entry across the luminal membrane at increasing intracellular sodium activity. To this end, proximal convoluted tubules of the doubly perfused isolated frog kidney were perfused alternatively with solutions containing either 5 mmol/l glucose or raffinose. The potential difference across the peritubular cell membrane (PDpt) and across the epithelium (PDte) has been recorded with conventional and across the peritubular cell membrane with ion selective microelectrodes (PDpt). In the absence of luminal glucose PDpt is (+/- SEM) -54.0 +/- 2.4 mV, PDte = -1.2 +/- 2.0 mV and PDNapt = -96 +/- 5 mV. The electrochemical gradient for sodium (mu Na+) amounts to 95 mV and intracellular sodium activity to 14 mmol/l (extracellular sodium activity is 74 mmol/l). Luminal application of glucose leads to a rapid depolarisation of PDpt (delta PDpt = 8.6 +/- 0.9 mV and PDNapt (delta PDNapt = 11.1 +/- 3.0 mV) and to hyperpolarisation of PDte (delta PDte = -0.8 +/- 0.2 mV). The peritubular application of ouabain leads to a gradual, reversible and proportional decline of PDpt, PDNapt and mu Na+. Glucose induced delta PDpt and delta PDNapt decrease in parallel to PDpt and PDNapt, resp. In a separate series, the lumped conductance (Gm) of the luminal and basolateral cell membrane has been determined, which amounts to 2.4 +/- 0.3 microS/mm (tubule length). Gm decreases 23 +/- 4%, when PDpt is decreased to half.