Extracellular lactic acid is a major fuel for the mammalian medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL), whereas under anoxic conditions, this nephron segment generates a large amount of lactic acid, which needs to be excreted. We therefore evaluated, at both the functional and molecular levels, the possible presence of monocarboxylate transporters in basolateral (BLMVs) and luminal (LMVs) membrane vesicles isolated from rat MTALs. Furthermore, this L-lactate self-exchange was markedly inhibited by ␣-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate and DIDS and almost completely by 1 mM furosemide, findings consistent with the existence of a stereospecific carrier-mediated lactate transport system in LMVs. Using immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and immunoblotting, the monocarboxylate transporter (MCT)-2 isoform was shown to be specifically expressed on the basolateral domain of the rat MTAL, whereas the MCT1 isoform could not be detected in this nephron segment. This study thus demonstrates the presence of different monocarboxylate transporters in rat MTALs; the basolateral H ؉ /L-lactate cotransporter (MCT2) and the luminal H ؉ -independent organic anion exchanger are adapted to play distinct roles in the transport of monocarboxylates in MTALs.
The medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL)1 is significantly engaged in the active absorption of NaCl, NH 4 ϩ , and HCO 3 Ϫ .Extracellular lactate has been shown to be a major fuel to support this large energy demand (for review, see Ref. 1), indicating that lactate uptake is a crucial process in the regulation of energy metabolism in this nephron segment. Conversely, under anoxic conditions, the increase in lactic acid production in the MTAL greatly exceeds the increase seen in other nephron segments (2). There is thus a need for facilitating efflux of glycolytically derived lactic acid from the MTAL. In most cells, transport of lactic acid occurs via monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) exhibiting the following properties: 1) cotransport of H ϩ with a monocarboxylate (or its equivalent, OH Ϫ /monocarboxylate exchange); 2) broad specificity for short chain monocarboxylates, including lactate and pyruvate; 3) inhibition by anion transport blockers such as ␣-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (CHC), DIDS, and phloretin; and 4) transstimulation of L-lactate uptake by pyruvate, L-lactate (but not by D-lactate), and other various substituted monocarboxylates. Seven different cDNAs have been identified that encode for MCTs in mammalians, designated MCT1 to MCT7 (3-6). MCT1 and MCT2 show a broad tissue distribution and are present in hamster (3, 4) and rat (7) kidneys. On the other hand, the expression of rat MCT3 and MCT4 is restricted to the retinal pigment epithelium (5) and muscle fibers (8), respectively. Three additional MCT isoforms, MCT5, MCT6, and MCT7, have been identified in human tissues (6).Although the mechanisms of lactate export and import have been extensively investigated in a variety of tissues (for review, see Ref. 9), little information has been available concerning the mechanisms of lactate...