Excretion of alkaloids by malpighian tubules of insects

1976 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. H. Maddrell ◽  
B. O. Gardiner

Nicotine is transported at high rates by Malpighian tubules of larvae of Manduca sexta, Pieris brassicae and Rhodnius prolixus and the transport persists in the absence of alkaloid from the diet. In the fluid-secreting portion of Rhodnius tubules this transport is not coupled to ion transport, nor is it dependent on the physiological state of the animal. The transport, which can occur against a steep electrochemical gradient, shows saturation kinetics with a maximal rate of 700 pmol. min-1 per tubule and is half saturated at 2–3 mM. Nicotine transport independent of ion movements also occurs in the lower resorptive parts of Rhodnius tubules. Both portions of Rhodnius tubules can transport morphine and atropine. These alkaloids and nicotine compete with one naother and are presumed to be carried by the smae transport system. Nicotine transport in Rhodnius was unaffected by organic anions, such as amaranth and benzyl penicillin, or by the organic anion transport inhibitor, probenecid. Fluid secretion in 5-HT-stimulated tubules was reduced by atropine and nicotine, probably by blocking the 5-HT receptors. The Malpighian tubules of adult Calliphora erythrocephala and Musca domestica remove nicotine from bathing solutions, an unknown metabolic accumulating in the tubules. Adult P. brassicae and M. sexta do not exhibit transport of nicotine by their Malpighian tubules.

1974 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. H. P. MADDRELL ◽  
B. O. C. GARDINER ◽  
D. E. M. PILCHER ◽  
S. E. REYNOLDS

Insect Malpighian tubules carry out active transport of two types of organic anion: acylamides (such as p-aminohippuric acid) and sulphonates (such as indigo carmine and amaranth). There are separate mechanisms for the transport of these two classes of compounds. The degree to which these compounds are concentrated depends critically on the passive permeability of the tubule wall. In the permeable Malpighian tubules of Calliphora, small transported molecules readily escape from the tubule lumen. At low rates of fluid secretion the net rate of dye transport is thereby very much reduced. As a result the rate of dye transport in this insect depends on the rate of fluid secretion, although the processes are not rigidly linked. In the less permeable tubules of Rhodnius and Carausius, dye secretion is not affected by the rate of fluid secretion. The active transport of these two types of compounds is a means of clearing from the haemolymph the conjugated compounds which are the products of detoxication of potentially toxic products of metabolism.


Author(s):  
Brendan Clifford

An ultrastructural investigation of the Malpighian tubules of the fourth instar larva of Culex pipiens was undertaken as part of a continuing study of the fine structure of transport epithelia.Each of the five Malpighian tubules was found to be morphologically identical and regionally undifferentiated. Two distinct cell types, the primary and stellate, were found intermingled along the length of each tubule. The ultrastructure of the stellate cell was previously described in the Malpighian tubule of the blowfly, Calliphora erythrocephala by Berridge and Oschman.The basal plasma membrane of the primary cell is extremely irregular, giving rise to a complex interconnecting network of basal channels. The compartments of cytoplasm entrapped within this system of basal infoldings contain mitochondria, free ribosomes, and small amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The mitochondria are distinctive in that the cristae run parallel to the long axis of the organelle.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (3) ◽  
pp. C521-C529 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Hegarty ◽  
B. Zhang ◽  
T. L. Pannabecker ◽  
D. H. Petzel ◽  
M. D. Baustian ◽  
...  

The effects of dibutyryl adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (DBcAMP) and bumetanide (both 10(-4) M) on transepithelial Na+, K+, Cl-, and fluid secretion and on tubule electrophysiology were studied in isolated Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. Peritubular DBcAMP significantly increased Na+, Cl-, and fluid secretion but decreased K+ secretion. In DBcAMP-stimulated tubules, bumetanide caused Na+, Cl-, and fluid secretion to return to pre-cAMP control rates and K+ secretion to decrease further. Peritubular bumetanide significantly increased Na+ secretion and decreased K+ secretion so that Cl- and fluid secretion did not change. In bumetanide-treated tubules, the secretagogue effects of DBcAMP are blocked. In isolated Malpighian tubules perfused with symmetrical Ringer solution, DBcAMP significantly hyperpolarized the transepithelial voltage (VT) and depolarized the basolateral membrane voltage (Vbl) with no effect on apical membrane voltage (Va). Total transepithelial resistance (RT) and the fractional resistance of the basolateral membrane (fRbl) significantly decreased. Bumetanide also hyperpolarized VT and depolarized Vbl, however without significantly affecting RT and fRbl. Together these results suggest that, in addition to stimulating electroconductive transport, DBcAMP also activates a nonconductive bumetanide-sensitive transport system in Aedes Malpighian tubules.


1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 695-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Dijkstra ◽  
A. Leyssens ◽  
E. Van Kerkhove ◽  
W. Zeiske ◽  
P. Steels

1993 ◽  
Vol 178 (1) ◽  
pp. 231-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Audsley ◽  
G. M. Coast ◽  
D. A. Schooley

1. Manduca sexta diuretic hormone (Mas-DH) stimulates fluid secretion by adult Malpighian tubules of M. sexta, demonstrating its site of diuretic action in M. sexta for the first time. It was not possible to develop a suitable bioassay to measure fluid secretion in larval proximal tubules. 2. Mas-DH has an antidiuretic action on the cryptonephric complex of larval M. sexta because it increases fluid absorption from the rectum. It appears that in this complex Mas-DH is acting on a Na+/K+/2Cl- co-transporter, presumably on the basal membrane of the cryptonephric Malpighian tubules, because Mas-DH-stimulated fluid absorption by the cryptonephric complex is inhibited by bumetanide or the removal of Cl-, Na+ or K+ from the haemolymph side of the tissue. This is the first demonstration of hormonal control of fluid absorption by the cryptonephric complex. 3. Concomitant with the stimulation of fluid transport, Mas-DH increases the amount of cyclic AMP secreted by adult Malpighian tubules and the cryptonephric complex. In addition, Mas-DH promotes cyclic AMP production by the larval proximal tubules.


1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (17) ◽  
pp. 2363-2367 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Quinlan ◽  
N J Tublitz ◽  
M J O'Donnell

Rhodnius prolixus eliminates NaCl-rich urine at high rates following its infrequent but massive blood meals. This diuresis involves stimulation of Malpighian tubule fluid secretion by diuretic hormones released in response to distention of the abdomen during feeding. The precipitous decline in urine flow that occurs several hours after feeding has been thought until now to result from a decline in diuretic hormone release. We suggest here that insect cardioacceleratory peptide 2b (CAP2b) and cyclic GMP are part of a novel mechanism of anti-diuresis. Secretion rates of 5-hydroxytryptamine-stimulated Malpighian tubules are reduced by low doses of CAP2b or cyclic GMP. Maximal secretion rates are restored by exposing tubules to 1 mmol l-1 cyclic AMP. Levels of cyclic GMP in isolated tubules increase in response to CAP2b, consistent with a role for cyclic GMP as an intracellular second messenger. Levels of cyclic GMP in tubules also increase as urine output rates decline in vivo, suggesting a physiological role for this nucleotide in the termination of diuresis.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (5) ◽  
pp. R967-R972
Author(s):  
T. J. Bradley

Urine formation in insects occurs in the Malpighian tubules by means of active ion transport and osmotically coupled water flow. The rates of urine formation can vary with time and can be modulated by diuretic hormones, developmental events, and intracellular parasitism. This paper reviews a number of recent studies in which it has been demonstrated that variations in transport rate are associated with substantial changes in tubule ultrastructure in the form of membrane insertion into and deletion from the apical microvilli. The principal driving force for fluid movement in Malpighian tubules is thought to be a common cation pump located in the apical membranes. It is proposed that modulation of the apical microvillar membrane may reflect regulation by the cells of the number of common cation pump units involved in fluid secretion.


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