Intracellular pH regulation and proton transport by rabbit renal medullary collecting duct cells. Role of plasma membrane proton adenosine triphosphatase.

Proton secretion in the renal medullary collecting duct is thought to occur via a luminal proton-ATPase. In order to determine what mechanism(s) participate in proton transport across medullary collecting duct (MCD) cells membranes, intracellular pH (pHi) regulation and proton extrusion rates were measured in freshly prepared suspensions of rabbit outer MCD cells. Cells were separated by protease digestion and purified by Ficoll gradient centrifugation. pHi was estimated fluorometrically using the entrapped intracytoplasmic pH indicator, 6-carboxyfluorescein. Proton extrusion rates were measured using a pH stat. The resting pHi of MCD cells was 7.19 +/- 0.05 (SE) in a nonbicarbonate medium of pH 7.30. When cells were acidified by exposure to acetate salts or by abrupt withdrawal of ammonium chloride, they exhibited pHi recovery to the resting pHi over a 5-min time-course. Depletion of greater than 95% of cellular ATP content by poisoning with KCN in the absence of glucose inhibited pHi recovery. ATP depletion inhibited proton extrusion from MCD cells. Treatment with N-ethylmaleimide also inhibited pHi recovery. In addition, cellular ATP content was dependent on transmembrane pH gradients, suggesting that proton extrusion stimulated ATP hydrolysis. Neither removal of extracellular sodium nor addition of amiloride inhibited pHi recovery. These results provide direct evidence that a plasma membrane proton-ATPase, but not a Na+/H+ exchanger, plays a role in proton transport and pHi regulation in rabbit MCD.