Excretion of Conjugated Bilirubin in the Isolated Perfused Rat Kidney
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Clinical Science and Molecular Medicine (1978) S4,381-389 Excretion of conjugated bilirubin in the isolated perfused rat kidney J. L. GOLLAN,* K. J. C. DALLINGER AND BARBARA H. BILLING Department of Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, London (Received 17 June 1977; accepted 22 October 1977) Summary conjugates in the urine was greater than in the perfusate. Whether this indicated further con 1. Renal mechanisms of conjugated bilirubin jugation by the kidney of the monoconjugates or excretion have been studied in isolated rat kidneys differential clearance of the conjugates was not perfused with a protein-free dextran medium, established. containing conjugated bilirubin isolated from human bile. Key words: conjugated bilirubin, kidney, tubular 2. In nine perfused kidneys with a low reabsorption. glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (<0·5 ml/min) and depressed tubular function, there was a Abbreviations: ERPF, effective renal plasma flow; significant linear correlation between conjugated bilirubin clearance and GFR (r = 0-97). GFR, glomerular filtration rate. 3. In contrast, nine kidneys with a normal GFR (>0·8 ml/min) and good tubular function exhibited Introduction substantial tubular reabsorption of filtered con Conjugated bilirubin is excreted in significant jugated bilirubin (mean 74%). Reabsorption was amounts in the urine of patients with elevated proportional to the filtered conjugated bilirubin plasma conjugated bilirubin concentrations, but not load and a tubular transport maximum was not by normal subjects or patients with an uncon- observed even at high concentrations (144 μηιοΐ/ΐ). jugated hyperbilirubinaemia. The excretion of con 4. The fractional reabsorption of bilirubin was jugated bilirubin is dependent on the small fraction unchanged by the addition of sodium amino- in the plasma which is not protein bound and is hippurate to the medium. Perfusion with an therefore available for glomerular filtration (Fulop, albumin medium (10 g/1) resulted in a tenfold Sandson & Brazeau, 1965); in contrast, uncon- reduction in conjugated bilirubin clearance. jugated bilirubin is almost completely protein 5. These observations indicate that non-protein- bound in plasma and is therefore not excreted in bound conjugated bilirubin is freely filtered by the the urine (Odell, 1959; Ostrow & Schmid, 1963). It glomeruli and then largely reabsorbed in the is generally believed that the excretion of con tubules. Evidence of tubular secretion was not jugated bilirubin is achieved predominantly by obtained. glomerular filtration (Fulop & Brazeau, 1964; 6. Chromatographie separation of bilirubin con Hoenig & Schiick, 1964; Wallace & Owen, 1964; jugates showed that the proportion of di- to mono- Fevery, Heirwegh & De Groote, 1967; Ali & * Present address: 1120 HSW, Department of Medicine, Billing, 1968). The histochemical demonstration of University of California, San Francisco, U.S.A. conjugated bilirubin in proximal tubular cells in Correspondence: Professor B. H. Billing, Department of obstructive jaundice (Nizet & Barac, 1952; Des- Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London, NW3 met, Bullens, De Groote & Heirwegh, 1968; Raia, 2QG. 381 382 /. L. Gollan, K. J. C. Dallinger and B. H. Billing 1970) supports the view that either tubular sec (specific radioactivity 50 juCi/mg) were supplied by retion (With, 1945; Laks, Pincus & Goldberg, The Radiochemical Centre, Amersham, U.K. 1963; Yamaoka, 1970) or tubular reabsorption (Ali & Billing, 1968) may also be involved. Indirect Preparation of conjugated bilirubin evidence, however, suggests that secretion of conjugated bilirubin by the renal tubules is unlikely Since conjugated bilirubin is not commercially (Williamson, Robinson & Owen, 1963; Fulop & available, it was prepared by a modification Brazeau, 1964; Schenker & McCandless, 1964; Ali (Brodersen & Jacobsen, 1969) of the method & Billing, 1968). described by Lucassen (1961). Human hepatic bile Interpretation of existing data has been com was obtained by T-tube drainage, on the second plicated by errors in the quantification of urinary and third postoperative days after exploration of bilirubin (Fevery et al, 1967) and difficulties in the common bile duct in patients with cholelithiasis, measuring unbound (or diffusible) plasma bilirubin. so that a concentration of conjugated bilirubin over Also, since pure conjugated bilirubin is not readily 170 ,umol/l was achieved. Bile was stored in the available, previous studies have been performed in dark at -20°C. A 500 ml sample of bile was patients with obstructive jaundice or bile-duct- thawed and the pH adjusted rapidly to 6·0 by the ligated animals, whose plasma contains not only addition of oxalic acid (0-79 mol/1; 100g/l). After conjugated bilirubin, but high concentrations of centrifugation, the pH of the supernatant was conjugated bile acids and phospholipids. In order reduced to 3·5 with oxalic acid (0-79 mol/1). The to define the relative importance of the glomeruli precipitate was mixed in 200 ml of cold acetone and tubules, we have used isolated rat kidneys and left with continuous stirring at 4°C in the dark perfused with a protein-free dextran medium for 1 h. After centrifugation, the pH of the super (Gollan, 1977) and a conjugated bilirubin pre natant was adjusted to 7-0 by the careful addition paration which is free of other biliary constituents of freshly prepared ethanol saturated with sodium (Lucassen, 1961), thus eliminating the problem of hydroxide. The precipitate obtained was dried protein binding. In addition, the composition of under N2 and stored in the dark at — 20°C. Under bilirubin conjugates in the urine and perfusion these conditions it was stable for at least 6 months. medium have been examined, in order to deter The preparation used in this study contained 77% mine whether the kidney can convert mono- conjugated bilirubin. Protein, phospholipid, conjugates of bilirubin into diconjugates. Previous cholesterol, triglycerides and bile acids were not investigators have shown that bilirubin mono- detected. Further analysis by McHugo and Hatch glucuronide can be formed by the kidney (Public Analysts' Laboratory, London, E.l) (Heirwegh & Barac, 1970; Franco, Preaux, Bis revealed weight loss on drying at 110°C (10-7%), muth & Berthelot, 1972; Foliot, Christoforov, ash (13-9%), sodium (6-7%), potassium (0-2%) Petite, Etienne, Housset & Dubois, 1975) but have and calcium (127 p.p.m.), and organic matter not demonstrated the formation of the diglucuron- calculated by difference (75-4%). ide. A preliminary report of this work was presented Isolated perfused rat kidney at the Medical Research Society Meeting, Oxford (July, 1975). The protein-free perfusion medium consisted of Krebs improved Ringer I solution (Dawson & Elliott, 1959), modified by the substitution of Materials and methods dextran (mol. wt. 70 000) (60 g/1) in NaCl solution (154 mmol/1) (Lomodex 70; Fisons Phar Chemicals maceuticals Ltd, Loughborough, Leics., U.K.) for Chemicals were generally of reagent grade, NaCl solution (154 mmol/1) and the addition of obtained from BDH Ltd (Poole, Dorset, U.K.). urea (5 mmol/1). The final concentration of dextran Ethyl anthranilate was purchased from Kodak Ltd was 3-7% (w/v). The medium was warmed in the (Kirkby, Liverpool, U.K.). Pentan-2-one was redis perfusion circuit to 38°C and equilibrated at pH tilled before use. The glycine/HCl buffer was 7-4 with 02/C02 (95 :5, v/v) before operation. prepared by adjusting HC1 (0-4 mol/1) to pH 2-8 Before operation, male Sprague-Dawley rats by the addition of glycine solution (2 mol/1). The weighing 350-400 g were fed ad libitum on a nuclides [51Cr]EDTA (specific radioactivity standard laboratory diet (modified 4IB; Oxoid Ltd, 1 mCi/mg) and sodium o-Il25I|iodohippurate London, S.E.I). The operative technique was Renal excretion of conjugated bilirubin 383 essentially that described by Nishiitsutsuji-Uwo, (Jendrassik & Grof, 1938) as the accelerator. In a Ross & Krebs (1967) for perfusion of the right series of 18 perfusions the conjugated bilirubin was kidney and the perfusion circuit has previously dissolved in water (1 ml), filtered through a been described in detail (Gollan, 1977). Under Millipore filter (pore size 0-45 /mi, type HAWP) ether anaesthesia the ureter was cannulated with and added to the perfusion medium during the polyethylene tubing (PP10; Portex Ltd, Hythe, equilibration period to produce an initial con Kent, U.K.) and the kidney prepared for perfusion jugated bilirubin concentration range of 5·8-144·3 by the insertion of a venous cannula (internal μτηοΐ/l. During perfusion a progressive fall in per diam. 2 mm) into the inferior vena cava, distal to fusate conjugated bilirubin concentration was the renal vein. A curved metal arterial cannula was observed (approximately 24%/h), due mainly to then placed into the renal artery (via the mesenteric the degradation of bilirubin to diazo-negative artery) with the perfusate flowing, so that renal products by the high Po2 of the medium (22-7- plasma flow was unimpaired. The kidney was 39-9 kPa; 170-300 mmHg) since only minimal dissected from the animal, placed in an enclosed changes were observed in the absence of oxygen. plastic box and the venous cannula connected into Data for a range of filtered conjugated bilirubin the circuit. The medium (120 ml) was recirculated loads (P.GFR) were therefore obtained from each through the kidney at a flow rate of 32-34 ml/min, experiment. The renal clearance of conjugated and was continuously filtered by an in-line dacron bilirubin was calculated from U. VIP, where U and filter [14 μτη pore size, type NC, Millipore (U.K.) P represent the concentrations of conjugated Ltd, London]. A 10 min equilibration period was bilirubin in urine and perfusate (/imol/ml) and V allowed for mixing, after addition of the conjugated the volume of urine (ml/min). The reabsorption of bilirubin to the system. Perfusion of the kidney then conjugated bilirubin (//mol/min) was calculated by proceeded for a further 60 min. Urine was collected subtracting the urinary excretion from the filtered over 10 min intervals and midpoint samples of load.