Determinants of ammonia entry along the rat proximal tubule during chronic metabolic acidosis.

The technique of in vivo microperfusion was used to examine the determinants of ammonia entry along the rat proximal tubule under conditions of chronic metabolic acidosis (CMA). When perfused with a 5 mM bicarbonate-containing perfusate, collected fluid ammonia concentrations remained constant with increasing flow rate and thus ammonia entry was highly flow-rate dependent. Ammonia entry was also flow-rate dependent using a 25 mM bicarbonate perfusate but entry reached a plateau as perfusion rate increased. Also, ammonia entry tended to be lower at all perfusion rates with the 25 mM perfusate compared with the 5 mM bicarbonate perfusate, but this was most evident at the highest perfusion rate (45 nl/min). The decline in ammonia entry was associated with increasing collected fluid bicarbonate concentrations, suggesting that there was inhibition of diffusion trapping of ammonia. The effects of Na+-H+ exchange inhibition on ammonia entry were examined using the amiloride analogue, 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)amiloride. With a 25 mM bicarbonate-containing perfusate, the amiloride analogue caused a significant decrease in bicarbonate reabsorption but a nonsignificant decrease in ammonia entry associated with a significant rise in collected fluid bicarbonate concentration. When the potential effects of decreased diffusion trapping of ammonia were eliminated with 12 and 5 mM bicarbonate-containing perfusates, the analogue had no effect on ammonia entry despite significant inhibition of bicarbonate reabsorption. Thus ammonia entry in CMA is moderately affected by tubule fluid pH but is highly flow-rate dependent. There were no effects of inhibition of Na+-H+ exchange above those expected from inhibition of diffusion trapping of ammonia.