METABOLISM OF KIDNEY TISSUE IN THE ADRENALECTOMIZED RAT

Abstract

An importantproblem in the study of the r61e of the adrenal cortex in metabolism is the determination of the relationship between the aberrations in electrolyte and water distribution and the defects in protein and carbohydrate metabolism which have been shown to occur in adrenalectomized animals.A point of attack is presented by the observation (1) that the kidney of the adrenalectomized dog maintained in good condition on extra sodium chloride and a low potassium intake fails to concentrate potassium in the urine to a normal extent.Since the kidney fails to do work efficiently, one may expect to iind underlying defects in the energy-yielding processes of the tissue.This expectation is realized in the experiments described below.Kidney tissue slices from adrenalectomized rats have a lower rate of oxygen uptake than normal rat kidney slices, both in the absence and in the presence of substrates.The rate of ammonia production from amino acids is also less than normal.These defects can be repaired by the administration of adrenal cortical extract or of desoxycorticosterone to the adre'nalectomized animals. MethodsOxygen consumption was measured by the Warburg manometric technique.The main room of each vessel contained 2.5