M tended to reduce stimulation by CO2, and at 10 Ϫ9 M, produced an even greater reduction. In conclusion, the mutual effects of 1) ANG II on the JHCO 3 response to basolateral CO2 and 2) basolateral CO2 on the JHCO 3 responses to ANG II suggest that the signal-transduction pathways for ANG II and basolateral CO2 intersect or merge.kidney; out-of-equilibrium solutions; acid-base; volume reabsorption ONE OF THE MAJOR tasks of the kidneys is to participate, along with the lungs, in the regulation of the acid-base balance of the extracellular fluid. For example, it has long been appreciated that acute respiratory acidosis (i.e., a rise in PCO 2 that causes a fall in pH) rapidly stimulates renal H ϩ secretion (8, 16). The proximal tubule (PT) plays a key role in this acid secretion. In addition to reabsorbing a near-isosmotic fluid that represents about two-thirds of the fluid filtered by the glomerulus, the PT reabsorbs ϳ80% of the filtered HCO 3 Ϫ as follows. The PT cell actively secretes H ϩ into the tubule lumen (1, 6, 35) and uses this H ϩ to titrate filtered HCO 3 Ϫ in the lumen to CO 2 and H 2 O, catalyzed by apical carbonic anhydrase IV (9, 36, 37). The newly formed CO 2 and H 2 O then diffuse into the PT cells, where carbonic anhydrase II (36, 37) catalyzes the regeneration of H ϩ and HCO 3 Ϫ . The cell extrudes the H ϩ across the apical membrane via Na-H exchangers (4, 5, 30) and H ϩ pumps (20), while exporting the HCO 3 Ϫ across the basolateral membrane, mainly via the electrogenic Na/HCO 3 cotransporter (7,15,32,33 (12) on isolated, perfused rabbit PTs. They noted that adding ϳ2 ϫ 10 Ϫ6 M ANG II to the basolateral solution had no detectable effect on the rate of fluid absorption (J V ). In a 1974 rat micropuncture study, Steven (38) reported that ϳ2 ϫ 10 Ϫ5 M basolateral ANG II lowered J V , whereas 1 ϫ 10 Ϫ7 M had no effect. Harris and Young (23) later showed that basolateral ANG II has a biphasic effect on Na ϩ reabsorption in the rat PT, stimulating at low doses (10 Ϫ12 -10 Ϫ10 M) and inhibiting at higher doses (3 ϫ 10 Ϫ7 -3 ϫ 10 Ϫ6 M). Shuster and colleagues (34) in 1984 demonstrated a similar biphasic effect of basolateral ANG II on J V in isolated, perfused rabbit PTs, ruling out a role of sympathetic innervation on the J V response. In 1991, working in isolated, perfused rat proximal straight tubules (PSTs), Garvin (19) found that 10 Ϫ10 M basolateral ANG II increases both J HCO 3 and J V . At about the same time, Chatsudthipong and Chan (14) found that high levels of basolateral ANG II reduce J HCO 3 in rats and that these effects are blocked by saralasin, an antagonist of ANG II receptors.As far as the effects of luminal ANG II are concerned, in a 1988 micropuncture study, Liu and Cogan (26) showed that low-dose luminal ANG II (10 Ϫ12 -10 Ϫ11 M) increases HCO 3 Ϫ reabsorption (J HCO 3 ) even in a denervated rat kidney. The 1990 study on the rat PT by Wang and Chan (39) extended the earlier observations by showing that increasing levels of luminal ANG II have biphasic effects on J HCO 3 as well...