In the rat cortical collecting duct (CCD), the presence of highly specific receptors to calcitonin (CT) coupled to a sensitive adenylate cyclase system suggests that this segment is a target site for CT. Our aim was to explore the effects of CT on the rat CCD microperfused in vitro. The hormone failed to alter the osmotic water permeability and did not affect net Na+ transport but generated a lumen-positive transepithelial potential difference (PDte), which under control conditions was close to zero. This response was dose dependent and was still observed in the presence of luminal amiloride, despite the luminal positivity generated by the Na+ channel blocker (PDte increased from 4.0 +/- 0.8 to 9.5 +/- 1.1 mV). In contrast, the nominal absence of CO2/HCO3- or the use of a low-Cl- solution totally prevented the PDte changes caused by CT. The CT-induced lumen-positive PDte was reduced by 2.3 +/- 0.8 mV after the basolateral addition of the Cl- channel inhibitor diphenylamine-2-carboxylate. 4-Acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid and acetazolamide, which inhibit Cl-/HCO3- exchangers and carbonic anhydrase activities, respectively, also inhibited the CT-induced PDte by 4.6 +/- 0.5 and 5.0 +/- 0.9 mV. To test whether the acid-base status of the animals influences the response to CT, rats underwent an acid or alkali load. CCD dissected from acid-loaded rats responded to CT to the same extent as control animals, but the hormonal action was significantly attenuated when the CCD was harvested from alkali-loaded rats (PDte increases: acid 4.0 +/- 0.3 vs. alkali 1.6 +/- 0.6 mV, P < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)