Further characterization of the natriuretic factor derived from kidney tissue of volume-expanded rats. Effects on short-circuit current and sodium-potassium-adenosine triphosphatase activity.

Boiled homogenates of kidneys from volume-expanded and hydropenic rats were subjected to column chromatography. The fraction eluting within the range of partition coefficients (Kav) 0.76-0.89 (fraction III) was lyophilized and the effects of this semipurified preparation were assessed on short-circuit current (SCC) across isolated frog skin, on rat kidney cortex Na-K-ATPase activity, and on sodium excretion by the rat in vivo. At a dose of 500 mug/ml, fraction III from expanded rat kidney inhibited SCC by 21 +/- 5% (P less than 0.01), whereas the same fraction from hydropenic rat kidney produced an insignificant change in SCC of 2 +/- 8 %. In a dose-response study, 50, 150, 500, and 1,500 mug/ml of fraction III from expanded rat kidney inhibited SCC by 4, 8, 19, and 28%, respectively; 500, 1,000 and 1,500 mug/ml inhibited Na-K-ATPase activity by 11, 22, and 49%, respectively. An identical study with fraction III from hydropenic animals showed no significant effect in either assay. Also, fractions from expanded and hydropenic rats, eluted after fraction III (fractions IV and V), had no effect on SCC or Na-K-ATPase activity. Fraction III also produced significant natriuresis in vivo at a dose of 500 mug/ml, confirming our observations that a natriuretic principle may be recovered from the kidneys of volume-expanded rats. We suggest that this natriuretic principle may act by reducing active sodium transport via inhibition of Na-K-ATPase.