Impaired renal HCO3- secretion in CFTR deficient mice causes metabolic alkalosis during chronic base-loading.

AIM Cystic fibrosis patients have an increased risk of developing metabolic alkalosis presumably as a result of altered renal HCO3- handling. In this study, we directly assess the kidneys' ability to compensate for a chronic base-load in the absence of functional CFTR. METHODS Comprehensive urine and blood acid-base analyses were done in anesthetized WT mice or mice lacking either CFTR or pendrin, with or without 7 days of oral NaHCO3 loading. The in vivo experiments were complemented by a combination of immunoblotting and experiments with perfused isolated mouse cortical collecting ducts (CCD). RESULTS Base-loaded WT mice maintained acid-base homeostasis by elevating urinary pH and HCO3- excretion and decreasing urinary net acid excretion. In contrast, pendrin KO mice and CFTR KO mice were unable to increase urinary pH and HCO3- excretion and unable to decrease urinary net acid excretion sufficiently and thus developed metabolic alkalosis in response to the same base-load. The expression of pendrin was increased in response to the base-load in WT mice with a paralleled increased pendrin function in the perfused CCD. In CFTR KO mice, 7 days of base-loading did not upregulate pendrin expression and apical Cl- /HCO3- exchange function was strongly blunted in the CCD. CONCLUSION CFTR KO mice develop metabolic alkalosis during a chronic base-load because they are unable to sufficiently elevate renal HCO3- excretion. This can be explained by markedly reduced pendrin function in the absence of CFTR.