Fast Nongenomic Effect of Aldosterone on the Volume of Principal Cells in Collecting Tube and Genetic Heterogeneity of Epithelial Sodium Channel in the Postnatal Ontogenesis of Rat Kidney.

The effects of amiloride, epithelial sodium pump inhibitor, on the fast nongenomic effect of aldosterone in principal cells of an isolated segment of the distal portion of renal collecting tubes were studied in 10-day-old and adult rats. Fluorescent staining with Calcein AM showed various effects of amiloride (10(-5) M) on the stabilizing effect of aldosterone (10 nM) in hypotonic shock (280/140 mOsm/kg). Amiloride attenuated by 30% the effect of aldosterone on the amplitude of principal cell swelling in adult animals and almost completely abolished this effect in 10-day rats (p<0.05). These age-specific differences in the contribution of the distal portion of the collecting tube to the nongenomic effect of aldosterone did not depend on genetic heterogeneity of its α-subunit.