Autocrine/paracrine regulation of renal Na(+)-phosphate cotransport by dopamine.

We tested the hypothesis that dopamine (DA) acts as an autocrine/paracrine regulator of Na(+)-Pi symport in proximal tubules, using opossum kidney (OK) cells as an in vivo model. Both DA and parathyroid hormone (PTH) increased adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and inhibited Na(+)-gradient-dependent uptake of 32P but not that of L-[3H]-alanine. Incubation of OK cells with L-dopa, a DA precursor, resulted in accumulation of DA (7.4 nM), a ninefold increase of cAMP in the medium, and an inhibition (-10%) of Na(+)-Pi uptake. Carbidopa, an inhibitor of aromatic-L-amino acid decarboxylase, prevented the formation of DA from L-dopa, the increase in cAMP, and the inhibition of Na(+)-Pi cotransport. Pi-replete OK cells produced more DA (+15%) from L-dopa than Pi-deprived cells; however, the endogenous DA inhibited Na(+)-Pi cotransport both in Pi-deprived and in Pi-replete cells. Thus OK cells can synthesize DA from L-dopa in a quantity sufficient to elicit both the maximum DA-stimulated cAMP accumulation and inhibition of Na(+)-Pi cotransport in the same cell population. Our data, obtained on an in vitro system, support the hypothesis proposing that DA generated in proximal tubular cells can modulate, via cAMP, the Na(+)-Pi symport in the same or adjacent cells. If present in the kidney, this pathway might represent an autocrine/paracrine system that can contribute to regulation of renal Pi homeostasis.

Effect of cAMP analogue infusion on phosphate reabsorption in phosphate-deprived rats.

The present study was performed to compare the effects of 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP analogue) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) infusion on segmental phosphate reabsorption in phosphate-deprived rats. Micropunctures of the late proximal and the early distal tubules were performed in acutely thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) rats fed either a normal (NPD) or low phosphate diet (LPD), and the phosphaturic response to infusion of PTH and cAMP analogue was evaluated. In NPD rats, PTH (n = 10) and the cAMP analogues (n = 11) markedly increased urinary phosphate excretion, due to inhibition of phosphate reabsorption along the proximal convoluted tubule and pars recta. In phosphate-deprived rats, PTH (n = 10) or the cAMP analogue (n = 11) did not increase urinary phosphate excretion. However, PTH and the cAMP analogue inhibited phosphate reabsorption along the proximal convoluted tubule but not in the pars recta in phosphate-deprived rats. We conclude that cAMP analogue infusion mimics the effect of PTH infusion on phosphate reabsorption along the proximal convoluted and proximal straight tubule in normal and phosphate-deprived rats. The resistance to the phosphaturic effect of PTH and cAMP infusions is a result of a blunted inhibition of phosphate reabsorption by the proximal convoluted tubule and also an increased phosphate reabsorption by the proximal straight tubule.