Fluid (sodium) reabsorption, total glucose efflux, and reabsorption of angiotensin II and insulin from the proximal convoluted tubule were studied in rats by in vivo microperfusion. After 35 min of total renal artery occlusion, function was assessed at two intervals, 0-1 h (early recovery, ER) and 2-4 h (late recovery, LR). Light and electron microscopic evaluation showed 60-75% loss of proximal convoluted tubule brush border membrane in ER and nearly complete restoration of brush border in LR. No other structural abnormalities were evident. Renal blood flow was unchanged from control during both ER and LR. During ER, fluid reabsorption was reduced to 29.8 +/- 5.2%, and total glucose efflux, at normal tubule loads, to 73.9 +/- 5.5% of control. However, angiotensin II and insulin reabsorption were unchanged. In LR, fluid reabsorption remained significantly reduced at 54.3 +/- 8.1% of control. Total glucose efflux from the proximal tubule was normal in LR at glucose loads of up to 400 pmol X min-1, but was significantly reduced at higher loads. Passive glucose efflux, measured in the presence of 10(-4)M phloridzin, was not altered by ischemia. Brief ischemia results in significant alterations in proximal tubular reabsorption of sodium and glucose, which correlate with a substantial loss of brush border during ER. However, despite restoration of cell morphology to normal in LR, transport defects for both sodium and glucose persist.