ATP and cAMP system in the in vitro response of microdissected cortical tubules to PTH.

Responsiveness of proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) and distal convoluted tubule (DCT) microdissected from mouse kidney to PTH, in terms of cAMP accumulation and stimulation of adenylate cyclase, was examined. In both PCT and DCT, the cell-free adenylate cyclase was stimulated at least 10-fold by the same dose (10 U/ml) of PTH, and activity of cAMP phosphodiesterase was about 80% higher in DCT than in PCT. In intact tubules, while the incubation with PTH increased cAMP content in DCT more than 10-fold, it failed to increase the cAMP levels in PCT. To explain discrepancies between cell-free and intact cell incubations, ATP content in microdissected tubules was determined with use of a microbioluminescence assay. ATP content in PCT (4.0 +/- 1.3 fmol/mm, n = 30) was dramatically lower than ATP content of DCT (376.8 +/- 54.3 fmol/mm, n = 25). Incubation with 1 microM rotenone reduced markedly (delta -98%) the ATP content in DCT. In DCT, with ATP depleted by 1 microM rotenone, PTH failed to increase the cAMP, although 1 microM rotenone did not inhibit the adenylate cyclase activity. When 0.1 mM of 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (MIX) was added to the incubation medium, PTH caused a marked elevation in tubular cAMP in PCT and to even a greater degree in DCT. Present results show that various segments of microdissected tubules differ greatly in their ability to maintain adequate ATP levels for cAMP generation in vitro.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)