Ascorbic acid transport in mammalian kidney

Abstract

Ascorbic acid is known to circulate free in the plasma of several species and is therefore filtered in the kidney; reabsorption subsequently takes place and prevents urinary loss. However, no specific mechanism of renal ascorbic acid transport has previously been presented. In the present study, rat and guinea pig kidney were incubated as slices or as isolated tubules in vitro in the presence of low concentrations of [14C]ascorbic acid. The kidneys of both species handle ascorbic acid similarly. Ascorbic acid accumulates in the renal tissue to a concentration three to four times that present in the bathing media. Recently absorbed ascorbic acid diffuses freely from the kidney and is predominantly nonmetabolized during absorption. Uptake is reduced following replacement of bathing solution sodium by lithium or cesium, or when incubation is performed in the presence of metabolic inhibitors or at low temperatures. The results indicate that ascorbic acid is reabsorbed in the kidney by a sodium-dependent active transport mechanism that operates by concentrating ascorbic acid in the cellular fluid. Renal slices and tubules both appear to transport ascorbic acid and galactose across the brush-border membrane; this indicates that the tubular lumens in these preparations are not collapsed or sealed off.