Long-term shake suspension and membrane vesicles of medullary thick ascending limb.

Cultured medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) cells may lack some of the main carriers of fresh MTAL cells, such as apical Na+-K+(NH4+)-2Cl- cotransporter (BSC-1) and Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE-3). We have developed a technique to maintain rat MTALs several hours in suspension and in a good state of viability. Medullary thick ascending limbs were suspended in a 1:1 mixture of Ham's nutrient mixture F-12 and Dulbecco's modified Eagle's essential medium (HDMEM) supplemented with 25 mM HCO3- and gassed with 95% O2/5% CO2; the resulting mixture was placed in a rotary shaking water bath at 37 degrees C for 16 hours. As seen by electron microscopy, MTALs from the HDMEM-suspension retained a virtually normal tubular organization. Na+-K+(NH4+)-2Cl- cotransport activity and NHE consistent with both apical NHE-3 and basolateral NHE-1 activities were underscored both in intact cells by intracellular pH measurements and in a membrane fraction enriched in apical and basolateral membranes by 22Na+ uptake experiments. These results demonstrate that freshly harvested MTALs can be maintained in a well differentiated state for at least 16 hours; this preparation should make long-term in vitro studies of MTAL transport regulations possible.