The extent of nephron injury after long-term preservation is unknown. An experimental protocol was designed to study the effects of 1 and 24 h of cold storage in preservation solution on renal slices of rabbit cortical collecting duct (CCD) isolated and perfused in vitro and evaluated by water hydraulic conductivity. The preservation solutions were Ringer-bicarbonate, Collins, Euro-Collins, and University of Wisconsin (UW). Under these experimental preservation conditions, the following results were observed: after 1 h of preservation, the CCDs obtained from slices incubated in Ringer-bicarbonate, Collins, and Euro-Collins solutions at 4 degrees C presented a high basal hydraulic conductivity compared to the control group and responded well to arginine-vasopressin (AVP) water permeability stimulation. The CCDs derived from renal slices stored for 24 h in Ringer-bicarbonate solution at 4 degrees C showed no function, while those preserved in Collins and Euro-Collins solutions showed a lack of responsiveness to AVP water permeability stimulation. The CCDs preserved in UW solution showed better values than those preserved in the other solutions, although there was a decrease in hydraulic conductivity after 24 h of preservation. These data show that long-term cold preservation with flushed solutions impairs the cortical collecting duct response to AVP. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.313272278