Renal cysts develop from microscopic tubules and may enlarge progressively several thousandfold. Sustained epithelial proliferation, intracavitary fluid accumulation, and extracellular matrix remodeling are central elements in a multistep process that leads to the formation and enlargement of cysts. MDCK cells suspended within medium-hydrated collagen gels grow to form spherical, monolayered, fluid-filled cysts that enlarge steadily. Vasopressin and other agents that increase intracellular levels of cAMP stimulate the rate of MDCK cyst growth and net fluid/solute secretion when added to defined medium in vitro. In this model, net fluid secretion is the only means by which fluid can accumulate within the cyst cavity. We used this cyst-forming line of epithelial cells to evaluate several membrane transport properties that are important in the coupled movements of solute and water in the process of secretory fluid transport. Individual cysts were microdissected from collagen gels, held by a micropipet in a thermostated chamber, and examined at a high magnification by video microscopy. Transepithelial water flow was initiated by rapidly exchanging the bath medium with hyperosmotic solutions. Net water flux, Jv, determined from the initial rate of decrease in cyst diameter, was proportionate to the transmembrane osmotic gradient of NaCl or raffinose; the reflection coefficient for NaCl was indistinguishable from 1.0. Osmotic water permeability (cm3/cm2/osm/min x 10(-6)) was 739 +/- 99 (N = 11) in medium augmented by an NaCl concentration of 100 mosmol/kg. Hydraulic conductivity (Pt), estimated in control cysts, was 6.8 +/- 0.9 microns/s, a value similar to that of medullary and cortical thick ascending limbs of Henle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)