An N-ethyl-maleimide (NEM)-sensitive ATPase that displays the properties of an electrogenic proton pump has been described in the different segments of the rat nephron where it mediates part of the active tubular proton secretion. Because corticosteroids are known to control kidney acidification, we evaluated whether or not NEM-sensitive ATPase is a target of corticosteroids in some nephron segments. For this purpose we measured NEM-sensitive ATPase activity in the different segments of nephron microdissected from normal and adrenalectomized rats. Results indicate that within 1 wk after adrenalectomy NEM-sensitive ATPase activity was markedly decreased in both cortical and outer medullary portions of the collecting tubule (cortex, from 398 +/- 12 (+/-SE) to 145 +/- 20; outer medulla, from 293 +/- 21 to 112 +/- 14 pmol X mm-1 X h-1); however, it was not altered in any other segment of the nephron. These results demonstrate that kidney NEM-sensitive ATPase is under the control of corticosteroids and suggest that mineralocorticoids rather than glucocorticoids are involved in this regulation that specifically occurs in mineralocorticoid-sensitive nephron segments. This paper also describes a new computerized method for the automatic determination of the length of single nephron segments.