Effects of ethacrynic acid on ion transport and energy metabolism in slices of avian salt gland and of mammalian liver and kidney cortex.

Ethacrynic acid greatly inhibited net transport of ions and aerobic, energy-conserving metabolism in slices of avian salt gland, rat liver, and rat and guinea-pig kidney cortex. The effects of increasing concentrations of ethacrynic acid on the transport of Na+, K+ and Cl- ran closely parallel to its effects on tissue ATP levels and respiration. The concentration needed for maximal inhibition of transport reduced ATP levels by 80--90%. Respiration was reduced by 80--90% in salt gland and kidney cortex, and by a maximum of 30% in liver slices. The effects of low concentrations of ethacrynic acid required time to become fully manifest in some tissues, and the development of transport inhibition followed a similar course to decline of respiration and ATP levels. Ca2+ extrusion by liver cells was inhibited by ethacrynic acid. The concentration dependence of the inhibition was similar to that shown by the other transport systems inhibited. There was no distinction evident between the sensitivity of Na+ extrusion and of K+ accumulation to the diuretic. Lactate production increased as respiration decreased in the presence of increasing concentrations of ethacrynic acid. We conclude that ethacrynic acid acted primarily as an inhibitor of mitochondrial respiration and ATP synthesis in the tissue slices, and that inhibition of ion transport was a nonspecific consequence of the failure of the energy supply.