Influence of potassium depletion on potassium conductance in proximal tubules of frog kidney.

In order to test for the contribution of intracellular potassium activity to the link of sodium/potassium-ATPase activity and potassium conductance, studies with conventional and potassium selective microelectrodes were performed on proximal tubules of the isolated perfused frog kidney. The peritubular transference number for potassium (tk), i.e., the contribution of peritubular slope potassium conductance to the slope conductance of the cell membranes (luminal and peritubular), was estimated from the influence of peritubular potassium concentration on the potential difference across the peritubular cell membrane (PDpt). During control conditions, PDpt is -65 +/- 1 mV, intracellular potassium activity (Ki) 57 +/- 2 mmol/l and tk 0.41 +/- 0.05. The resistance in parallel of the luminal and peritubular cell membranes (Rm) is 44 +/- 4 k omega cm, the resistance of the cellular cable (Rc) 137 +/- 13 M omega/cm. When the cells are exposed 10 min to potassium free perfusates (series I), PDpt increases by -28 +/- 3 mV within 2 min and then decreases gradually to approach the control value within 10 min. Ki decreases by 22 +/- 3 mmol/l and Rc increases by 35 +/- 10%. After a transient decrease, Rm increases by 36 +/- 9%. Readdition of peritubular potassium leads to a transient increase of PDpt, a gradual decrease of Rm and Rc as well as a gradual increase of Ki. tk recovers only slowly to approach 65 +/- 8% of control value within 3 and 79 +/- 10% within 6 min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)