Organic mercurials and net movements of potassium in rat kidney slices

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Abstract
The organic mercurial diuretic, meralluride, and the nondluretic mercurial, p-chloromercurtbenzoate (PCMB), were studied in the intact rat and in rat kidney slices. Meralluride has a diuretic action in the intact rat and also depresses urinary excretion of K when this excretion is augmented by acetazoleamlde. Meralluride administered in vitro depresses the maintenance of intracellular potassium, membrane, ATPase activity, and tissue respiration of rat kidney slices incubated in a physiologically balanced salt medium. Meralluride administered in vivo at a diuretic dose has been shown to depress membrane ATPase activity but has no effect on levels of intracellular K in the kidney in vivo. Meralluride administered in vivo at a diuretic dose depresses the rate of passive outflow of K from kidney slices. PCMB at similar levels had no effect in all the above systems. Both mercurial compounds cause some tissue swelling in incubated kidney slices in vitro but do not cause significant swelling in vivo. The diuretic action of meralluride would appear to be related to a membrane site of action in the kidney.