Postnatal development of carbonic anhydrase iv expression in rabbit kidney. Schwartz, George J., Jennifer Olson, Ann M. Kittelberger, Tohru Matsumoto, Abdul Waheed and William S. Sly. From the aDepartments of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY 14642, and bDepartments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63104.
APStracts 5:0212F, 1998.
Carbonic anhydrase (CA) IV activity facilitates renal acidification by catalyzing the dehydration of luminal carbonic acid. CA IV has been localized to the proximal tubules and medullary collecting ducts. Maturation of CA IV expression has been considered to be important in the development of renal acid excretion. The purpose of the present study was to determine the maturational expression of CA IV in rabbit kidney. A guinea pig polyclonal antibody to purified rabbit lung microsomal membrane CA IV was generated. Immunoblotting of membrane proteins after peptide-N-glycosidase F treatment revealed two N -glycosylation sites and reduction in size from [sim]52 kDa to 35 kDa; there appeared to be heavier glycosylation in the medulla. In membrane and total proteins from the kidney cortex CA IV was 15-30% of the adult level during the first two weeks of life, but increased to mature levels by 5 weeks of age. The maturational pattern in the cortex was confirmed by measuring SDS-resistant CA hydratase activity. In the medulla both membrane and total proteins were generally less than a quarter of the adult level of CA IV during the first two weeks of life, before reaching mature levels by 5 weeks of age. Immunohistochemistry showed staining in proximal tubules (apical > basolateral) with maximal label in the S2 segment. CA IV also appeared on the apical membranes of a minority cell type of the cortical collecting duct, presumably the -intercalated cell. Several labeled cells also appeared to be the process of being extruded from medullary collecting ducts of 1-2 wk rabbits. The antibody did not reliably detect medullary CA IV expression in sections from mature rabbits. These studies indicate that there is a substantial postnatal increase in expression of CA IV in the maturing kidney, both in cortex and medulla. The disappearance of intercalated cells in the maturing rabbit medullary collecting duct may be part of a normal renal developmental program, as reported by Kim et al (Am. J. Physiol. 270:F575, 1996). It is likely that the maturation of CA IV expression contributes to the increase in renal acidification observed early in postnatal life.

Received 27 March 1998; accepted in final form 25 November 1998.
APS Manuscript Number F076-8.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Renal Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1998 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 9 December 1998