Accumulation of [14C]urate and [3H]PAH in isolated proximal tubular segments of the rabbit kidney.

Segments of rabbit proximal tubules (S1, S2, and S3) were incubated (30 min, 37 degrees C, pH 7.4) in Ringer solution (under O2) containing [14C]urate or [3H]PAH and probenecid, pyrazinoic acid (PZA), urate, or PAH, all at 1 mM. The ratio [14C]urate (counts/min per nanoliter of tubular cell water)/(counts/min per nanoliter of incubation medium) (T/M) reached 2.92 +/- 0.31 (mean +/- SE; n = 15), 6.08 +/- 0.42 (n = 42), and 1.72 +/- 0.31 (n = 14) for S1, S2, and S3 segments, respectively. In these segments the uptake of [3H]PAH was 22.7 +/- 4.6 (n = 19), 133 +/- 18.9 (n = 24), and 66.2 +/- 15.3 (n =0). The accumulation of [14C]urate was saturated at 2 x 10(-4) M in the medium, and that of [3H]PAH at 7 x 10(-5) M in the medium. Secretory transport was saturated at the same bath PAH concentration in perfused tubules. Urate and PAH transports inhibited each other, thus suggesting a common transport mechanism mainly located in the S2 segment. Probenecid was a strong and PZA a weak inhibitor of this transport system.