Fluoride inhibition of the hydro-osmotic response of the toad urinary bladder to antidiuretic hormone

The hydro-osmotic response of the toad bladder to antidiuretic hormone and cyclic AMP was inhibited by the methoxyflurane metabolite, fluoride. The osmotic transfer of water in the absence of hormone was unaffected by fluoride as was the hydroosmotic response due to hypertonicity of the serosal bathing media. Osmotic water movements across N-ethylmaleimide-'fixed' vasopressin or cyclic AMP-stimulated bladders were likewise unchanged by fluoride, suggesting that fluoride is exerting an action subsequent to the endogenous formation of cyclic AMP but before the final effector mechanism. Fluoride increased intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations even in the presence of added hormone. Fluoride suppressed calmodulin activity and prevented its activation of phosphodiesterase. Fluoride had no effect on oxygen consumption of toad urinary bladder cells but reduced lactate formation and anaerobic metabolism. This decrease in the glycolytic energy source did not contribute to the inhibition of the hormonal response since 2-deoxyglucose was without effect on hormonal mediated osmotic-water flow. It is postulated that the fluoride-induced polyuria after methoxyflurane anesthesia may be due in part to the ability of fluoride to interfere with calcium and calmodulin-initiated processes (other than phosphodiesterase activity) that may occur in the stimulus-reabsorption coupling response of antidiuretic hormone.