Currents through individual Na channels in the apical membrane of the rat cortical collecting tubule were resolved by using the patch-clamp technique. In cell-attached patches, the channels had a conductance of 5 pS with 140 mM NaCi in the pipet. The conductance was a saturable function of external Na, with a maximal value of about 8 pS and a half saturation at about 75 mM Na. In excised inside-out patches, the selectivity of the channels for Na over K was estimated from reversal potentials to be at least 10:1. The channels underwent spontaneous transitions between open and dosed states. Both states had mean lifetimes of 3-4 sec. Amiloride (0.5 pM) added to the pipet induced more frequent closures and openings of the channels and a reduction in the mean open time. These channels are presumed to mediate Na reabsorption by this nephron segment in vivo.According to the Koefoed-Johnsen-Ussing model of Nareabsorbing epithelia (1), Na enters the epithelial cell across the outer or apical border by diffusion through a membrane selectively permeable to Na. Measurements of current noise across these membranes indicate that this permeability is conferred by apical membrane Na channels (2). Here we report the use of the patch-clamp technique (3) to study single-channel activity in the apical membrane ofthe rat renal cortical collecting tubule (CCT). The channels exhibit many of the properties expected of them on the basis of transepithelial electrical and flux measurements in tight epithelia. These properties include the single-channel conductance, a high selectivity to Na, and block by luminal amiloride.
METHODSSprague-Dawley rats of either sex (75-100 g) raised free of viral infections (Charles River Laboratories, Kingston, NY) were kept on a Na-deficient diet (ICN) with free access to tap water for 10-30 days. The animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, and one kidney was quickly removed. A CCT was dissected free under a microscope in oxygenated, bicarbonate-free Ringer's solution (pH 7.4) The open tubules were bathed at room temperature in a medium containing 135 mM NaCl, 5 mM KCl, 2 mM CaCl2, 1 mM MgCI2, 2 mM glucose, and 10 mM Hepes/NaOH at pH 7.3. Pipet solutions normally contained 140 mM NaCl, 3 mM MgCl2, and 10 mM Hepes/NaOH at pH 7.3. The Na concentration in the pipet was increased by adding NaCl and reduced by isosmotically replacing NaCl with N-methyl-Dglucamine hydrochloride. For measurements using insideout patches, the bath medium was replaced with either the normal pipet solution or one containing 47 mM NaCl, 93 mM KCl, 3 mM MgCl2, and 10 mM Hepes/KOH at pH 7.3. Patch-clamp techniques followed the methods of Hamill et al. (3). Pipets were pulled from blue-tip hematocrit glass (Fisher) in three stages with a modified vertical pipet puller (David Kopf, Tujunga, CA) and used uncoated. The pipets were mounted onto the headstage of a patch-clamp amplifier (Dagan Corp., Minneapolis, MN) and lowered gently onto the apical surface of the tubule. Seals were formed by applying suction to the pipet....