Glucocorticoid impairs growth of kidney outer medulla and accelerates loop of Henle differentiation and urinary concentrating capacity in rat kidney development

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (4) ◽  
pp. F812-F822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Stubbe ◽  
Kirsten Madsen ◽  
Finn Thomsen Nielsen ◽  
Ole Skøtt ◽  
Boye L. Jensen

In the rat, urinary concentrating ability develops progressively during the third postnatal (P) week and nearly reaches adult level at weaning ( P21) governed by a rise in circulating glucocorticoid. Elevated extracellular osmolality can lead to growth arrest of epithelial cells. We tested the hypothesis that supranormal exposure of rat pups to glucocorticoid before the endogenous surge enhances urinary concentrating ability but inhibits renomedullary cell proliferation. Proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells shifted from the nephrogenic zone in the first postnatal week to Tamm-Horsfall-positive thick ascending limb (TAL) cells at the corticomedullary junction at P10– 14. Renal PCNA protein abundance was stable in the suckling period and decreased 10-fold after weaning. Renal PCNA protein abundance decreased in response to dexamethasone (DEXA; 100 μg·kg−1·day−1, P8–12). Prolonged administration of DEXA ( P1-P11) reduced selectively the area and thickness of the outer medulla and the number of PCNA-positive cells. DEXA ( P8– 12) increased urinary and papillary osmolality in normohydrated and water-deprived pups and led to osmotic equilibrium between interstitium and urine, whereas apoptotic and GADD153-positive cells increased in the inner medulla. TAL-associated NaCl transporters Na-K-2Cl cotransporter, Na-K-ATPase-α1, Na/H exchanger type 3, and ROMK increased significantly at weaning and in response to DEXA. We conclude that a low level of circulating glucocorticoid is permissive for proliferation of Henle's loop and the outer medulla before weaning. A reduced papillary tonicity is a crucial factor for the reduced capacity to concentrate urine during postnatal kidney development. We speculate that supranormal exposure to glucocorticoid in the suckling period can alter kidney medullary structure and function permanently.

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. F619-F628 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Ecelbarger ◽  
J. Terris ◽  
J. R. Hoyer ◽  
S. Nielsen ◽  
J. B. Wade ◽  
...  

To investigate the role of the thick ascending limb (TAL) Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransporter in regulation of water excretion, we have prepared a peptide-derived polyclonal antibody based on the cloned cDNA sequence of the rat type 1 bumetanide-sensitive cotransporter, BSC-1 (also termed "NKCC-2"). Immunoblots revealed a single broad 161-kDa band in membrane fractions of rat renal outer medulla and cortex but not from rat colon or parotid gland. A similar protein was labeled in mouse kidney. Immunoperoxidase immunohistochemistry in rat kidney revealed labeling restricted to the medullary and cortical TAL segments. Because long-term regulation of urinary concentrating ability may depend on regulation of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransporter abundance, we used immunoblotting to evaluate the effects of several in vivo factors on expression levels of BSC-1 protein in rat kidney outer medulla. Chronic oral saline loading with 0.16 M NaCl markedly increased BSC-1 abundance. However, long-term vasopressin infusion or thirsting of rats did not affect BSC-1 abundance. Chronic furosemide infusion caused a 9-kDa upward shift in apparent molecular mass and an apparent increase in expression level. These results support the previous identification of BSC-1 as the TAL Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- transporter and demonstrate that the expression of this transporter is regulated.


2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (3) ◽  
pp. F481-F491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju-Young Jung ◽  
Young-Hee Kim ◽  
Jung-Ho Cha ◽  
Ki-Hwan Han ◽  
Moo-Kang Kim ◽  
...  

Newborn rats are not capable of producing concentrated urine. With development of the concentrating system and a hypertonic medullary interstitium, intracellular osmolytes, such as sorbitol, accumulate in the renal medulla. Sorbitol is produced from glucose in a reaction catalyzed by aldose reductase (AR). The purpose of this study was to establish the time of expression and distribution of AR in the developing rat kidney. Kidneys from 16-, 18-, and 20-day-old fetuses and 1-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 7-, 14-, and 21-day-old pups were processed for immunohistochemistry and immunoblot analysis. In adult animals, AR was expressed only in the inner medulla, in which it was localized in ascending thin limbs (ATLs), inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs), and interstitial cells. AR immunoreactivity was not detected in fetal kidneys but was observed in the terminal part of the descending thin limb and IMCD in the renal papilla of 1-day-old pups. At birth, all of the loops of Henle are configured as short loops and there are no ATLs. After birth, papillary thick ascending limbs are gradually transformed into ATLs by a process that involves apoptotic deletion of cells from the thick ascending limb. During this time, AR immunoreactivity appeared in the cells undergoing transformation in the ascending limb, beginning at the papillary tip and ascending to the border between the outer medulla and the inner medulla. However, there was no labeling of apoptotic cells. The expression of AR in both the ATL and the IMCD gradually increased during kidney development. We conclude that AR expression in the inner medulla coincides with the increase in medullary tonicity that is known to occur during the first 3 wk after birth. On the basis of the observation that only AR-negative cells were deleted by apoptosis in the differentiating ATL, we propose that AR may protect ATL cells against apoptosis.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (2) ◽  
pp. F219-F226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Fernández-Llama ◽  
Carolyn A. Ecelbarger ◽  
Joseph A. Ware ◽  
Peter Andrews ◽  
Alanna J. Lee ◽  
...  

Cyclooxygenase inhibitors, such as indomethacin and diclofenac, have well-described effects to enhance renal water reabsorption and urinary concentrating ability. Concentrating ability is regulated in part at the level of the thick ascending limb of Henle’s loop, where active NaCl absorption drives the countercurrent multiplication mechanism. We used semiquantitative immunoblotting to test the effects of indomethacin and diclofenac, given over a 48-h period, on the expression levels of the ion transporters responsible for active NaCl transport in the thick ascending limb. Both agents strongly increased the expression level of the apical Na-K-2Cl cotransporter in both outer medulla and cortex. Neither agent significantly altered outer medullary expression levels of other thick ascending limb proteins, namely, the type 3 Na/H exchanger (NHE-3), Tamm-Horsfall protein, or α1- or β1-subunits of the Na-K-ATPase. Administration of the EP3-selective PGE2analog, misoprostol, to indomethacin-treated rats reversed the stimulatory effect of indomethacin on Na-K-2Cl cotransporter expression. We conclude that cyclooxygenase inhibitors enhance urinary concentrating ability in part through effects to increase Na-K-2Cl cotransporter expression in the thick ascending limb of Henle’s loop. This action is most likely due to elimination of an EP3-receptor-mediated tonic inhibitory effect of PGE2 on cAMP production.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (3) ◽  
pp. F393-F407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Arystarkhova ◽  
Randall K. Wetzel ◽  
Kathleen J. Sweadner

Renal Na+-K+-ATPase is associated with the γ-subunit (FXYD2), a single-span membrane protein that modifies ATPase properties. There are two splice variants with different amino termini, γa and γb. Both were found in the inner stripe of the outer medulla in the thick ascending limb. Coimmunoprecipitation with each other and the α-subunit indicated that they were associated in macromolecular complexes. Association was controlled by ligands that affect Na+-K+-ATPase conformation. In the cortex, the proportion of the γb-subunit was markedly lower, and the γa-subunit predominated in isolated proximal tubule cells. By immunofluorescence, the γb-subunit was detected in the superficial cortex only in the distal convoluted tubule and connecting tubule, which are rich in Na+-K+-ATPase but comprise a minor fraction of cortex mass. In the outer stripe of the outer medulla and for a short distance in the deep cortex, the thick ascending limb predominantly expressed the γb-subunit. Because different mechanisms maintain and regulate Na+ homeostasis in different nephron segments, the splice forms of the γ-subunit may have evolved to control the renal Na+ pump through pump properties, gene expression, or both.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (5) ◽  
pp. F901-F909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Vorum ◽  
Tae-Hwan Kwon ◽  
Christiaan Fulton ◽  
Brian Simonsen ◽  
Inyeong Choi ◽  
...  

An electroneutral Na-HCO3 − cotransporter (NBCN1) was recently cloned, and Northern blot analyses indicated its expression in rat kidney. In this study, we determined the cellular and subcellular localization of NBCN1 in the rat kidney at the light and electron microscopic level. A peptide-derived antibody was raised against the COOH-terminal amino acids of NBCN1. The affinity-purified antibody specifically recognized one band, ∼180 kDa, in rat kidney membranes. Peptide- N-glycosidase F deglycosylation reduced the band to ∼140 kDa. Immunoblotting of membrane fractions from different kidney regions demonstrated strong signals in the inner stripe of the outer medulla (ISOM), weaker signals in the outer stripe of the outer medulla and inner medulla, and no labeling in cortex. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated that NBCN1 immunolabeling was exclusively observed in the basolateral domains of thick ascending limb (TAL) cells in the outer medulla (strongest in ISOM) but not in the cortex. In addition, collecting duct intercalated cells in the ISOM and in the inner medulla also exhibited NBCN1 immunolabeling. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that NBCN1 labeling was confined to the basolateral plasma membranes of TAL and collecting duct type A intercalated cells. Immunolabeling controls were negative. By using 2,7-bis-carboxyethyl-5,6-caboxyfluorescein, intracellular pH transients were measured in kidney slices from ISOM and from mid-inner medulla. The results revealed DIDS-sensitive, Na- and HCO3 −-dependent net acid extrusion only in the ISOM but not in mid-inner medulla, which is consistent with the immunolocalization of NBCN1. The localization of NBCN1 in medullary TAL cells and medullary collecting duct intercalated cells suggests that NBCN1 may be important for electroneutral basolateral HCO3 − transport in these cells.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (5) ◽  
pp. C1298-C1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Feilleux-Duche ◽  
M. Garlatti ◽  
M. Aggerbeck ◽  
M. Poyard ◽  
J. Bouguet ◽  
...  

The basal expression and hormonal regulation of cytosolic aspartate aminotransferase (cAspAT) were investigated in the rat kidney. In adrenalectomized animals, the basal activity was highest in the renal cortex and in the inner stripe of the outer medulla (0.1-0.15 U/mg protein). The glucocorticoid analogue dexamethasone increased cAspAT activity about twofold in the cortex and in the inner stripe of the outer medulla but not in the papilla. A half-maximal increase in the activity was achieved at doses of approximately 5 micrograms/100 g body wt. The mineralocorticoid aldosterone did not modify the cAspAT activity. The cell specificity of the hormonal regulation was analyzed by in situ hybridization. In untreated adrenalectomized rats, a cAspAT cRNA probe labeled mainly the inner stripe of the outer medulla. After dexamethasone or hydrocortisone treatment, labeling was uniformly increased in this part of the medulla and was heterogeneously increased in the renal cortex. The specific increase in labeling within the cortex was shown to be confined to the distal convoluted tubule and the thick ascending limb. We conclude that, in addition to widespread basal expression, cAspAT is regulated by glucocorticoids in a highly cell-specific manner in the renal cortex. The enzyme may thus participate in the increased energy metabolism elicited by these hormones in these cells.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (1) ◽  
pp. F152-F165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Hwan Kwon ◽  
Jakob Nielsen ◽  
Young-Hee Kim ◽  
Mark A. Knepper ◽  
Jørgen Frøkiær ◽  
...  

The effect of ANG II treatment of rats for 7 days was examined with respect to the abundance and subcellular localization of key thick ascending limb (TAL) Na+ transporters. Rats were on a fixed intake of Na+ and water and treated with 0, 12.5, 25, 50 (ANG II-50), 100 (ANG II-100), and 200 (ANG II-200) ng·min-1·kg-1 ANG II (sc). Semiquantitative immunoblotting revealed that Na+/H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3) abundance in the inner stripe of the outer medulla (ISOM) of ANG II-treated rats was significantly increased: 179 ± 28 (ANG II-50, n = 5), 166 ± 23 (ANG II-100, n = 7), and 167 ± 19% (ANG II-200, n = 4) of control levels ( n = 6, P < 0.05), whereas lower doses of ANG II were ineffective. The abundance of the bumetanide-sensitive Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter (BSC-1) in the ISOM was also increased to 187 ± 28 (ANG II-50), 162 ± 23 (ANG II-100), and 166 ± 19% (ANG II-200) of control levels ( P < 0.05), but there were no changes in the abundance of Na+-K+-ATPase and the electroneutral Na+-HCO3 cotransporter NBCn1. Immunocytochemistry confirmed the increase in NHE3 and BSC-1 labeling in medullary TAL (mTAL). In the cortex and the outer strip of the outer medulla, NHE3 abundance was unchanged, whereas immunocytochemistry revealed markedly increased NHE3 labeling of the proximal tubule brush border, suggesting subcellular redistribution of NHE3 or differential protein-protein interaction. Despite this, ANG II-treated rats (50 ng·min-1·kg-1 for 5 days, n = 6) had a higher urinary pH compared with controls. NH4Cl loading completely blocked all effects of ANG II infusion on NHE3 and BSC-1, suggesting a potential role of pH as a mediator of these effects. In conclusion, increased abundance of NHE3 and BSC-1 in mTAL cells as well as increased NHE3 in the proximal tubule brush border may contribute to enhanced renal Na+ and HCO3 reabsorption in response to ANG II.


2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (6) ◽  
pp. F1701-F1709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Young Na ◽  
Gheun-Ho Kim ◽  
Kwon Wook Joo ◽  
Jay Wook Lee ◽  
Hye Ryoun Jang ◽  
...  

Furosemide administration stimulates distal acidification. This has been attributed to the increased lumen-negative voltage in the distal nephron, but the aspect of regulatory mechanisms of H+-ATPase has not been clear. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether chronic administration of diuretics alters the expression of H+-ATPase and whether electrogenic Na+ reabsorption is involved in this process. A 7-day infusion of furosemide or hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) lowered urine pH significantly. However, this effect of furosemide-induced distal acidification was not changed with amiloride-blocking electrogenic Na+ reabsorption. On immunoblotting, a polyclonal antibody against the H+-ATPase B1 subunit recognized a specific ∼56-kDa band in membrane fractions from the kidney. The protein abundance of H+-ATPase was significantly increased by furosemide and HCTZ infusion in both the cortex and outer medulla. Furosemide plus amiloride administration also increased the H+-ATPase protein abundance significantly. However, no definite subcellular redistribution of H+-ATPase was observed by furosemide ± amiloride infusion with immunohistochemistry. Chronic furosemide ± amiloride administration induced a translocation of pendrin to the apical membrane, while total protein abundance was not increased. The mRNA expression of H+-ATPase was not altered by furosemide ± amiloride infusion. We conclude that chronic administration of diuretics enhances distal acidification by increasing the abundance of H+-ATPase irrespective of electrogenic Na+ reabsorption. This upregulation of H+-ATPase in the intercalated cells may be the result of tubular hypertrophy by diuretics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (3) ◽  
pp. F263-F272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan C. Fry ◽  
Aurélie Edwards ◽  
Ioannis Sgouralis ◽  
Anita T. Layton

We have developed a highly detailed mathematical model of solute transport in the renal medulla of the rat kidney to study the impact of the structured organization of nephrons and vessels revealed in anatomic studies. The model represents the arrangement of tubules around a vascular bundle in the outer medulla and around a collecting duct cluster in the upper inner medulla. Model simulations yield marked gradients in intrabundle and interbundle interstitial fluid oxygen tension (Po2), NaCl concentration, and osmolality in the outer medulla, owing to the vigorous active reabsorption of NaCl by the thick ascending limbs. In the inner medulla, where the thin ascending limbs do not mediate significant active NaCl transport, interstitial fluid composition becomes much more homogeneous with respect to NaCl, urea, and osmolality. Nonetheless, a substantial Po2 gradient remains, owing to the relatively high oxygen demand of the inner medullary collecting ducts. Perhaps more importantly, the model predicts that in the absence of the three-dimensional medullary architecture, oxygen delivery to the inner medulla would drastically decrease, with the terminal inner medulla nearly completely deprived of oxygen. Thus model results suggest that the functional role of the three-dimensional medullary architecture may be to preserve oxygen delivery to the papilla. Additionally, a simulation that represents low medullary blood flow suggests that the separation of thick limbs from the vascular bundles substantially increases the risk of the segments to hypoxic injury. When nephrons and vessels are more homogeneously distributed, luminal Po2 in the thick ascending limb of superficial nephrons increases by 66% in the inner stripe. Furthermore, simulations predict that owing to the Bohr effect, the presumed greater acidity of blood in the interbundle regions, where thick ascending limbs are located, relative to that in the vascular bundles, facilitates the delivery of O2 to support the high metabolic requirements of the thick limbs and raises NaCl reabsorption.


1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1823-1830 ◽  
Author(s):  
P A Mennitt ◽  
J B Wade ◽  
C A Ecelbarger ◽  
L G Palmer ◽  
G Frindt

Renal potassium secretion occurs in the distal segments of the nephron through apically located secretory potassium (SK) channels. SK may correspond to the ROMK channels cloned from rat kidney. In this study, the localization of ROMK at the cellular level in the rat kidney was examined using an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody raised against a C-terminal peptide of ROMK. The specificity of the antibody was demonstrated by immunoblots of membranes of Xenopus oocytes expressing ROMK2. Immunoblots of homogenates from rat renal outer medulla and cortex revealed predominant bands of 70 to 75 kD, which were ablated by preadsorption with an excess of peptide. These bands were specific for the rat kidney. Immunolocalization studies revealed that ROMK is expressed in specific nephron segments in both the cortex and medulla. In the cortex, ROMK was found in the apical domain of the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, the connecting tubule, and in some, but not all, cells of cortical collecting tubules. In the medulla, expression in the apical membrane of the thick ascending limbs of Henle's loop was strong, whereas outer medullary collecting ducts were weakly stained. Expression in the thick ascending limb was also heterogeneous; some cells that expressed the Na-K-Cl cotransporter were weakly stained with the anti-ROMK antibody. No staining of glomeruli, proximal tubules, or inner medullary collecting ducts was found. The localization of ROMK agrees well with the findings of SK in patch-clamp studies and supports the view that ROMK is the SK channel of the distal segments of the nephron.


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