The surprising finding of lower chloride permeability in neonate proximals compared with adults impacts net chloride transport in this segment, which reabsorbs 60% of the filtered chloride in adults. However, this maturational difference in chloride permeability may not be applicable to other species. The present in vitro microperfusion study directly examined the chloride and mannitol permeability using in vitro perfused rat proximal tubules during postnatal maturation. Whereas there was no maturational change in mannitol permeability, chloride permeability was 6.3 Ϯ 1.3 ϫ 10 Ϫ5 cm/s in neonate rat proximal convoluted tubule and 16.1 Ϯ 2.3 ϫ 10 Ϫ5 cm/s in adult rat proximal convoluted tubule (P Ͻ 0.01). There was also a maturational increase in chloride permeability in the rat proximal straight tubule (5.1 Ϯ 0.6 ϫ 10 Ϫ5 cm/s vs. 9.3 Ϯ 0.6 ϫ 10 Ϫ5 cm/s, P Ͻ 0.01). There was no maturational change in bicarbonate-to-chloride permeabilities (P HCO3/PCl) in the rat proximal straight tubules (PST) and proximal convoluted tubules (PCT) or in the sodium-to-chloride permeability (PNa/PCl) in the proximal straight tubule; however, there was a significant maturational decrease in proximal convoluted tubule PNa/ P Cl with postnatal development (1.31 Ϯ 0.12 in neonates vs. 0.75 Ϯ 0.06 in adults, P Ͻ 0.001). There was no difference in the transepithelial resistance measured by current injection and cable analysis in the PCT, but there was a maturational decrease in the PST (7.2 Ϯ 0.8 vs. 4.6 Ϯ 0.1 ⍀ ⅐ cm 2 , P Ͻ 0.05). These studies demonstrate there are maturational changes in the rat paracellular pathway that impact net NaCl transport during development. paracellular pathway; mannitol permeability THE ADULT PROXIMAL TUBULE reabsorbs over half of the filtered chloride (2,5,6,18,27,28). Active transcellular chloride is via the parallel operation of the Na ϩ /H ϩ exchanger and a Cl/base exchanger (5, 27). The other half of chloride transport by the proximal tubule is passive, paracellular, and in large part, dependent on the chloride permeability. Thus the characteristics of the paracellular pathway can have a substantive effect on NaCl transport by the proximal tubule.Previous studies examining the maturational changes in paracellular permeability have been conflicting. In a study (17) where solutes were injected into the early proximal tubule of guinea pigs and the urine was collected from the ipsilateral kidney, recovery of sucrose and creatinine did not vary with age and were comparable to inulin. However, mannitol recovery increased from 92% at 1 day of age to 100% at 49 days of age (17). Whereas these studies were indirect and assessed mannitol absorption, a sugar that is not actively transported along the entire nephron, these data were consistent with a more permeable paracellular pathway in neonates than in adults.We have examined the permeability properties of the rabbit proximal tubule (23, 29). We found that the neonate had lower proximal tubule chloride permeability, but there was no maturational difference in th...