The SLC6A18 Transporter Is Most Likely a Na-Dependent Glycine/Urea Antiporter Responsible for Urea Secretion in the Proximal Straight Tubule: Influence of This Urea Secretion on Glomerular Filtration Rate

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Urea is the major end-product of protein metabolism in mammals. In carnivores and omnivores, a large load of urea is excreted daily in urine, with a concentration that is 30–100 times above that in plasma. This is important for the sake of water economy. Too little attention has been given to the existence of energy-dependent urea transport that plays an important role in this concentrating activity. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> This review first presents functional evidence for an energy-dependent urea secretion that occurs exclusively in the straight part of the proximal tubule (PST). Second, it proposes a candidate transmembrane transporter responsible for this urea secretion in the PST. <i>SLC6A18</i> is expressed exclusively in the PST and has been identified as a glycine transporter, based on findings in <i>SLC6A18</i> knockout mice. We propose that it is actually a glycine/urea antiport, secreting urea into the lumen in exchange for glycine and Na. Glycine is most likely recycled back into the cell via a transporter located in the brush border. Urea secretion in the PST modifies the composition of the tubular fluid in the thick ascending limb and, thus, contributes, indirectly, to influence the “signal” at the macula densa that plays a crucial role in the regulation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by the tubulo-glomerular feedback. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> Taking into account this secondary active secretion of urea in the mammalian kidney provides a new understanding of the influence of protein intake on GFR, of the regulation of urea excretion, and of the urine-concentrating mechanism.