Extracellular urea concentration modulates cAMP production in the mouse MTAL.

Ionic reabsorption along the ascending limb of Henle's loop (TAL) is controlled by hormonal stimulation. Most of the hormones that affect this reabsorption regulate ionic transporter activity via cAMP, and some of these hormonal actions have been shown to be modulated by interstitial osmolarity. We studied the early effects of increasing extracellular urea concentration on the production of cAMP induced by arginine vasopressin (AVP) and forskolin in a suspension of medullary portions of TAL (MTAL) prepared from mouse kidney.