scholarly journals Altered glomerular permeability as a result of focal detachment of the visceral epithelium

1982 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yashpal S. Kanwar ◽  
Lionel J. Rosenzweig
1961 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn G. Farquhar ◽  
Steven L. Wissig ◽  
George E. Palade

Ferritin was used as a tracer to investigate pathways and mechanisms for transfer across the various layers of the glomerular capillary wall. Kidney tissue, fixed at intervals of 2 minutes to 2 hours following an intravenous injection of ferritin, was examined by electron microscopy. The observations confirmed the existence of three distinct and successive layers in the glomerular capillary wall (the endothelium, the basement membrane, and the visceral epithelium). In addition, they demonstrated a number of new structural features: namely (a) discrete fibrils in the subendothelial spaces; (b) a characteristic, highly elaborate, cytoplasmic organization in the visceral epithelium; and (c) special structures resembling "desmosomes" in the slits between foot processes. In animals sacrificed at short time intervals (2 to 15 minutes) following ferritin administration, ferritin molecules were found at high concentration in the lumen and endothelial fenestrae, at low concentration in the basement membrane, and in very small numbers within the epithelium. Later (1 to 2 hours), the tracer particles were still present in the lumen and within endothelial fenestrae, and, in addition, had accumulated on the luminal side of the basement membrane, especially in the axial regions of the vessels. Larger numbers of ferritin molecules were also found in the epithelium—in invaginations of the cell membrane at the base of the foot processes, and in various membrane-limited bodies (vesicles, multivesicular bodies, vacuoles, and dense bodies) present within the cytoplasm. These observations suggest that the endothelial fenestrae are patent and that the basement membrane is the main filtration barrier. Since the basement membrane has no demonstrable pores, it is probably not a simple sieve but presumably is a gel-like structure with two fine fibrillar components embedded in an amorphous matrix. Both the epithelium and endothelium may be concerned with building and maintaining this structure. Finally, the intracellular accumulation of particles in the epithelium suggests that the latter acts as a monitor that recovers, at least in part, the small amounts of protein which normally leak through the filter.


1980 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 250-256
Author(s):  
Tito Cavallo

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (4) ◽  
pp. F605-F613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Venturoli ◽  
Bengt Rippe

Polydisperse mixtures of dextran or Ficoll have been frequently used as molecular probes for studies of glomerular permselectivity because they are largely inert and not processed (reabsorbed) by the proximal tubules. However, dextrans are linear, flexible molecules, which apparently are hyperpermeable across the glomerular barrier. By contrast, the Ficoll molecule is almost spherical. Still, there is ample evidence that Ficoll fractional clearances (sieving coefficients) across the glomerular capillary wall (GCW) are markedly higher than those for neutral globular proteins of an equivalent in vitro Stokes-Einstein (SE) radius. Physical data, obtained by “crowding” experiments or measurements of intrinsic viscosity, suggest that the Ficoll molecule exhibits a rather open, deformable structure and thus deviates from an ideally hard sphere. This is also indicated from the relationship between (log) in vitro SE radius and (log) molecular weight (MW). Whereas globular proteins seem to behave in a way similar to hydrated hard spheres, polydisperse dextran and Ficoll exhibit in vitro SE radii that are much larger than those for compact spherical molecules of equivalent MW. For dextran, this can be partially explained by a high-molecular-size asymmetry. However, for Ficoll the explanation may be that the Ficoll molecule is more flexible (deformable) than are globular proteins. An increased compressibility of Ficoll and an increased deformability and size asymmetry for dextran may be the explanation for the fact that the permeability of the GCW is significantly higher when assessed using polysaccharides such as Ficoll or dextran compared with that obtained using globular proteins as molecular size probes. We suggest that molecular deformability, besides molecular size, shape, and charge, plays a crucial role in determining the glomerular permeability to molecules of different species.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1213-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Abbate ◽  
C Zoja ◽  
D Corna ◽  
M Capitanio ◽  
T Bertani ◽  
...  

Progression to end-stage renal failure is the final common pathway of many forms of glomerular disease, independent of the type of initial insult. Progressive glomerulopathies have in common persistently high levels of urinary protein excretion and tubulointerstitial lesions at biopsy. Among the cellular mechanisms that may determine progression regardless of etiology, the traffic of excess proteins filtered from glomerulus in renal tubule may have functional importance by initiating interstitial inflammation in the early phase of parenchymal injury. This study analyzes the time course and sites of protein accumulation and interstitial cellular infiltration in two different models of proteinuric nephropathies. In remnant kidneys after 5/6 renal mass ablation, albumin and IgG accumulation by proximal tubular cells was visualized in the early stage, preceding interstitial infiltration of MHC-II-positive cells and macrophages. By double-staining, infiltrates developed at or near tubules containing intracellular IgG or luminal casts. This relationship persisted thereafter despite more irregular distribution of infiltrate. Similar patterns were found in an immune model (passive Heymann nephritis), indicating that the interstitial inflammatory reaction develops at the sites of protein overload, regardless of the type of glomerular injury. Osteopontin was detectable in cells of proximal tubules congested with protein in both models at sites of interstitial infiltration, and by virtue of its chemoattractive action this is likely mediator of a proximal tubule-dependent inflammatory pathway in response to protein load. Protein overload of tubules is a key candidate process translating glomerular protein leakage into cellular signals of interstitial inflammation. Mechanisms underlying the proinflammatory response of tubular cells to protein challenge in diseased kidney should be explored, as well as ways of limiting protein reabsorption/deposition to prevent consequent inflammation and progressive disease.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (6) ◽  
pp. F1084-F1089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Molitoris ◽  
Ruben M. Sandoval

Recent advances in microscopy and optics, computer sciences, and the available fluorophores used to label molecules of interest have empowered investigators to utilize intravital two-photon microscopy to study the dynamic events within the functioning kidney. This emerging technique enables investigators to follow functional and structural alterations with subcellular resolution within the same field of view over seconds to weeks. This approach invigorates the validity of data and facilitates analysis and interpretation as trends are more readily determined when one is more closely monitoring indicative physiological parameters. Therefore, in this review we emphasize how specific approaches will enable studies into glomerular permeability, proximal tubule endocytosis, and microvascular function within the kidney. We attempt to show how visual data can be quantified, thus allowing enhanced understanding of the process under study. Finally, emphasis is given to the possible future opportunities of this technology and its present limitations.


1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (3) ◽  
pp. F319-F331
Author(s):  
C. B. Wilson ◽  
R. C. Blantz

Immunologic models of renal injury are useful in the study of pathophysiology. Some of these models have already been used in glomerular micropuncture studies and were shown to be approachable with the same techniques that were developed to study normal renal function. The typical decrease in the glomerular permeability coefficient found in such studies is countered by an increase in the hydrostatic pressure gradient, minimizing decreases in single nephron filtration rate. Antibody mechanisms involving either direct glomerular (and tubular) fixation of antibody or accumulation of immune complex materials provide an array of acute and chronic lesions for evaluation with relevance to the bulk of immune glomerular and tubular lesions in humans. The influences of varied and overlapping immune mediator systems are also useful areas for physiologic assessment. The tools of the renal immunopathologist may be useful to the physiologist in identifying and localizing the effects of transport systems central to renal function. The collaborative interaction of investigators skilled in immunology, pathology, and physiology is necessary to achieve optimum scientific value.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document