Phloretin sensitive active urea absorption in frog skin

Active urea transport in lower vertebrates and mammals

Some unicellular organisms can take up urea from the surrounding fluids by an uphill pumping mechanism. Several active (energy-dependent) urea transporters (AUTs) have been cloned in these organisms. Functional studies show that active urea transport also occurs in elasmobranchs, amphibians, and mammals. In the two former groups, active urea transport may serve to conserve urea in body fluids in order to balance external high ambient osmolarity or prevent desiccation. In mammals, active urea transport may be associated with the need to either store and/or reuse nitrogen in the case of low nitrogen supply, or to excrete nitrogen efficiently in the case of excess nitrogen intake. There are probably two different families of AUTs, one with a high capacity able to establish only a relatively modest transepithelial concentration difference (renal tubule of some frogs, pars recta of the mammalian kidney, early inner medullary collecting duct in some mammals eating protein-poor diets) and others with a low capacity but able to maintain a high transepithelial concentration difference that has been created by another mechanism or in another organ (elasmobranch gills, ventral skin of some toads, and maybe mammalian urinary bladder). Functional characterization of these transporters shows that some are coupled to sodium (symports or antiports) while others are sodium-independent. In humans, only one genetic anomaly, with a mild phenotype (familial azotemia), is suspected to concern one of these transporters. In spite of abundant functional evidence for such transporters in higher organisms, none have been molecularly identified yet.

New insights into urea and glucose handling by the kidney, and the urine concentrating mechanism

The mechanism by which urine is concentrated in the mammalian kidney remains incompletely understood. Urea is the dominant urinary osmole in most mammals and may be concentrated a 100-fold above its plasma level in humans and even more in rodents. Several facilitated urea transporters have been cloned. The phenotypes of mice with deletion of the transporters expressed in the kidney have challenged two previously well-accepted paradigms regarding urea and sodium handling in the renal medulla but have provided no alternative explanation for the accumulation of solutes that occurs in the inner medulla. In this review, we present evidence supporting the existence of an active urea secretion in the pars recta of the proximal tubule and explain how it changes our views regarding intrarenal urea handling and UT-A2 function. The transporter responsible for this secretion could be SGLT1, a sodium-glucose cotransporter that also transports urea. Glucagon may have a role in the regulation of this secretion. Further, we describe a possible transfer of osmotic energy from the outer to the inner medulla via an intrarenal Cori cycle converting glucose to lactate and back. Finally, we propose that an active urea transporter, expressed in the urothelium, may continuously reclaim urea that diffuses out of the ureter and bladder. These hypotheses are all based on published findings. They may not all be confirmed later on, but we hope they will stimulate further research in new directions.

The crab-eating frog,Rana cancrivora, up-regulates hepatic carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I activity and tissue osmolyte levels in response to increased salinity

The crab-eating frog Rana cancrivora is one of only a handful of amphibians worldwide that tolerate saline waters. They typically inhabit brackish water of mangrove forests of Southeast Asia, but live happily in freshwater and can be acclimated to 75% seawater (25 ppt) or higher. We report here that after transfer of juvenile R. cancrivora from freshwater (1 ppt) to brackish water (10 -->20 or 20 -->25 ppt; 4-8 d) there was a significant increase in the specific activity of the key hepatic ornithine urea cycle enzyme (OUC), carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPSase I). At 20 ppt, plasma, liver and muscle urea levels increased by 22-, 21-, and 11-fold, respectively. As well, muscle total amino acid levels were significantly elevated by 6-fold, with the largest changes occurring in glycine and beta-alanine levels. In liver, taurine levels were 5-fold higher in frogs acclimated to 20 ppt. There were no significant changes in urea or ammonia excretion rates to the environment. As well, the rate of urea influx (J(in) (urea)) and efflux (J(out) (urea)) across the ventral pelvic skin did not differ between frogs acclimated to 1 versus 20 ppt. Taken together, these findings suggest that acclimation to saline water involves the up-regulation of hepatic urea synthesis, which in turn contributes to the dramatic rise in tissue urea levels. The lack of change in urea excretion rates, despite the large increase in tissue-to-water gradients further indicates that mechanisms must be in place to prevent excessive loss of urea in saline waters, but these mechanisms do not include cutaneous urea uptake. Also, amino acid accumulation may contribute to an overall rise in the osmolarity of the muscle tissue, but relative to urea, the contribution is small.

Active proton and urea transport by amphibian skin

Proton secretion in frog skin is mediated by an electrogenic H+ pump. Pharmacological and immunocytological approaches have identified this pump as belonging to the V-ATPase class. The key role of this V-ATPase in proton secretion (acid-base balance) and as a membrane energizer of other solute transport from very dilute solutions is outlined. It is shown that the frog skin constitutes a model of a V-ATPase-dependent Na+ transport mechanism applicable to other freshwater animals. On the other hand, attempts to implicate the V-ATPase in the active urea transport that develops through the skin of salt-adapted frogs have failed; the nature of the different urea transporters located on apical and basal epithelial cell membranes and those responsible for active urea reabsorption remain to be identified.

Effect of vasopressin on the permeability of non electrolytes across the skins of Rana esculenta and Bufo bufo

Maximal doses of vasopressin increase the permeability of the skins of Bufo bufo and Rana esculenta to urea, ethylene glycol, glycerol, erythritol, beta-alanine, leaving virtually unmodified that of mannitol and antipyrine. These results demonstrate that the response to vasopressin is quite different in amphibian skins as compared to the bladders. A careful analysis of the effects of vasopressin on non-electrolyte permeability as a function of their molecular weight demonstrates that hormone elicits the formation of pores with a diameter inferior to 4 A. Under vasopressin treatment the skins exhibit a selectivity for polyhydroxylated molecules as compared to urea and beta-alanine. This selectivity is not due to active of facilitated transport and is not impaired by phloretin or DTNB which selectively blocks the permeability of urea or ethylene glycol in erythrocytes. It is proposed that the site of such selectivity is located in other plasma membranes of the epithelium.