beta 1-Adrenergic receptors in kidney tubular cell membrane in the rat.

We used a beta-adrenergic antagonist, (-) 3H-dihydroalprenolol, to demonstrate binding sites in purified rat kidney preparations that consistsed of plasma membranes of cells from tubules. The tubular origin of these plasma membranes was shown by electron microscopy and Na-K-ATPase enrichment. The binding was rapid (t1/2, 78 sec) and rapidly reversible (t1/2, 48 sec). The binding sites were saturable and bound 69.8 +/- (SD) 29.1 fmoles/mg of membrane protein. The binding was stereospecific with the isomers of beta-adrenergic agonists and beta-adrenergic antagonist propranolol, the (-) isomers being about 40 times more potent than the (+) isomers incompeting for these sites. (-) 3H-dihydroalprenolol had a high affinity for the binding sites, expressed by the mean equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) (KD, 7.1 nM). The beta-adrenergic antagonist (-) propranolol also showed high affinity (KD, 62.8 nM). The order of potency for inhibition of binding by beta-adrenergic agonists was: (-) isoproterenol (KD, 0.66 microM) greater than (-) epinephrine (KD, 4.3 microM) greater than or equal to (-) norepinephrine (KD, 13.5 microM). Conclusion. The (-) 3H-dihydroalprenolol binding sites in the rat kidney tubular cell membrane are beta-adrenergic receptor of the beta1 subgroup.