A micropuncture study of urate excretion by Cebus monkeys employing high performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection of urate.

Net renal reabsorption of endogenous urate was studied by the micropuncture technique in Cebus monkeys in the absence of osmotic diuresis. Most of filtered urate (more than 70%) was reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubules. Samples from early distal tubules contained 9% of filtered urate; approximately 18% being reabsorbed between the late proximal and early distal segments. There was no detectable reabsorption along the distal tubule. Fractional delivery of urate to late distal tubules was greater than fractional excretion, implying reabsorption of some 4% of filtered urate in the collecting system. However, we cannot exclude nephron heterogeneity as the cause of the difference. The foregoing results were obtained using the method of Pachla and Kissinger for the determination of urate. Urate is separated by high performance liquid chromatography and detected by an amperometric technique. We found the method to be sufficiently sensitive, precise and specific for renal micropuncture samples.