Dissociation of digoxin-like immunoreactivity and Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitory activity in rat plasma.

We measured endogenous digitalis-like factor (EDF) in rat plasma during acute saline infusion by two different procedures. Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitory activity in the rat plasma significantly increased during saline loading (7.8 +/- 2.2 vs 2.5 +/- 0.9%, with and without acute saline loading, respectively, p less than 0.05). On the other hand, the plasma digoxin-like immunoreactivity significantly decreased during acute saline loading (16.9 +/- 1.6 vs 32.0 +/- 2.8 pg digoxin equivalents/ml, with and without acute saline loading, respectively, p less than 0.01). These results indicate that the major substances detected by digoxin-like immunoreactivity and direct Na+,K+-ATPase inhibitory activity are completely different, at least in rat plasma.