Acid-base disturbances occur in a wide range of diseases, and lead to disturbances in arterial (a) and intracellular pH that can have devastating consequences for the patient. In response to such disturbances, the renal proximal tubule (PT)—which normally handles ~80% of the H+ secreted by the kidney—appropriately adjusts its rate of H+ secretion (JH). Previous work showed that the PT does not sense the pH on the basolateral (BL) side of the PT. Rather, PT JH markedly rises with increases in [CO2]BL or decreases in [HCO3−]BL. Nevertheless, mechanisms for sensing Δ[CO2]BL and Δ[HCO3−]BL and transducing these to ΔJH are poorly understood. Important clues are that the basolateral CO2-evoked increase in JH requires that endogenously secreted ANG II bind to apical AT1A receptors, and is blocked by inhibitors that target a subset of receptor tyrosine kinases that include ErbB1 and ErbB2. New data show that the knockout (KO) of receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase γ (RPTPγ), normally present in the PT basal membrane, eliminates the ΔJH produced by Δ[CO2]BL and [HCO−]BL, and markedly reduces the ability of the whole mouse to regulate pHa during metabolic acidosis (MAc). Curiously, the extracel- lular side of RPTPγ has a region—the carbonic-anhydrase–like domain (CALD)—that is ~40% identical to clas- sical carbonic anhydrases (CAs). The three aims of this proposal are a multidisciplinary approach to address, at three levels of integration, how PTs senses Δ[CO2]BL and Δ[HCO3−]BL and transduce them into ΔJH, and the role played by these processes in pHa regulation of pHa during whole-body MAc and respiratory acidosis (RAc): At the molecular level, we ask (1) what is the mechanism of RPTPγ? How do Δ[CO2] and Δ[ HCO3−] control RPTPγ’s dimerization, which controls its phosphatase activity? Does RPTPγ interact with ErbB1 and ErbB2? And does the CALD lack of CA activity, and if so, why? At the cellular level we ask (2) how do RPTPγ and putative down- stream elements function in isolated PTs? We will use viral constructs, injected into kidneys of RPTPγ –/– mice, to determine the roles of RPTPγ’s CALD and phosphatase domains. Are ErbB1 and ErbB2 required to transduce Δ[CO2]BL and Δ[ HCO3−]BL signals to ΔJH? Do [CO2]BL and [HCO3−]BL control JH by modulating ability of luminal ANG II to signal at or downstream to apical AT1A? At the whole-animal level, we ask (3) are RPTPγ and downstream effectors (ErbB1, ErbB2, ACE, and AT1A) essential in the whole-body responses to MAc and RAc? The approach, using KO mice, is to impose MAc or RAc and assess arterial blood gases, urine chemistry, and targeted transcription and protein profiles. Our work will produce major insights into how RPTPγ senses and transduces changes in acid-base status, how downstream elements function in PTs, and the impact for the whole animal. Because RPTPγ is expressed in a broad range of cell types, is closely related to RPTPζ (mainly in CNS astro- cytes), and because RPTPγ’s CALD is similar to thre...