Localization of kallikrein in the rat kidney and its anatomical relationship to renin.

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
T B Orstavvik ◽  
T Inagami

The anatomical relationship between kallikrein and renin in the rat kidney was investigated immunohistochemically by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Kallikrein was localized to the convoluted distal tubule, starting at a point, distal to the juxtaglomerular apparatus, where the thick ascending limb of loop of Henle transformed into the convoluted distal tubule. The thick ascending limb was identified by its content of uromucoid (Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein). Kallikrein was never observed within the juxtaglomerular apparatus itself. The kallikrein-containing tubule ended where the distal tubule submerged into the collecting duct. Renin was found in epitheloid cells of the afferent arteriole. When neighboring sections were stained for kallikrein and renin, respectively, no close anatomical relationship was observed between the kallikrein-containing and the renin-containing structures.

2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (6) ◽  
pp. F1473-F1485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Ackermann ◽  
Nikolay Gresko ◽  
Monique Carrel ◽  
Dominique Loffing-Cueni ◽  
Daniel Habermehl ◽  
...  

Aldosterone and corticosterone bind to mineralocorticoid (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR), which, upon ligand binding, are thought to translocate to the cell nucleus to act as transcription factors. Mineralocorticoid selectivity is achieved by the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) that inactivates 11β-hydroxy glucocorticoids. High expression levels of 11β-HSD2 characterize the aldosterone-sensitive distal nephron (ASDN), which comprises the segment-specific cells of late distal convoluted tubule (DCT2), connecting tubule (CNT), and collecting duct (CD). We used MR- and GR-specific antibodies to study localization and regulation of MR and GR in kidneys of rats with altered plasma aldosterone and corticosterone levels. In control rats, MR and GR were found in cell nuclei of thick ascending limb (TAL), DCT, CNT, CD cells, and intercalated cells (IC). GR was also abundant in cell nuclei and the subapical compartment of proximal tubule (PT) cells. Dietary NaCl loading, which lowers plasma aldosterone, caused a selective removal of GR from cell nuclei of 11β-HSD2-positive ASDN. The nuclear localization of MR was unaffected. Adrenalectomy (ADX) resulted in removal of MR and GR from the cell nuclei of all epithelial cells. Aldosterone replacement rapidly relocated the receptors in the cell nuclei. In ASDN cells, low-dose corticosterone replacement caused nuclear localization of MR, but not of GR. The GR was redistributed to the nucleus only in PT, TAL, early DCT, and IC that express no or very little 11β-HSD2. In ASDN cells, nuclear GR localization was only achieved when corticosterone was replaced at high doses. Thus ligand-induced nuclear translocation of MR and GR are part of MR and GR regulation in the kidney and show remarkable segment- and cell type-specific characteristics. Differential regulation of MR and GR may alter the level of heterodimerization of the receptors and hence may contribute to the complexity of corticosteroid effects on ASDN function.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (6) ◽  
pp. F1185-F1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. O'Connell ◽  
S. J. Botkin ◽  
S. I. Ramos ◽  
D. R. Sibley ◽  
M. A. Ariano ◽  
...  

The dopamine D1A receptor subtype was identified in rat kidney with both light microscopic immunohistochemistry and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Antipeptide polyclonal antisera were directed to both extracellular and intracellular regions of the native receptor. The use of such receptor-subtype-selective antibodies allows for the identification of specific dopamine receptor subtype clones that are not distinguished by current pharmacological or receptor-ligand binding technology. Selectivity of the antipeptide antisera was validated by their ability to recognize native receptor protein expressed in permanently transfected mouse LTK- cells. In the rat kidney, D1A receptor protein was localized to the juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA), proximal tubule, distal tubule, cortical collecting duct, and renal vasculature. In the JGA, the receptor was predominantly located in the arteriolar smooth muscle layer within cytoplasmic granules previously shown to contain renin. In the proximal tubules, staining was localized both on the brush-border and basolateral membranes. The D1A receptor, which is present in the central nervous system, is now identified in the rat kidney at those sites previously labeled as DA1 receptor sites on the basis of pharmacological binding studies. These results suggest that at least some of the renal dopamine DA1 receptors correspond structurally to the central dopamine D1A receptor.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1410-1421
Author(s):  
JUNG-HO CHA ◽  
YOUNG-HEE KIM ◽  
JU-YOUNG JUNG ◽  
KI-HWAN HAN ◽  
KIRSTEN M. MADSEN ◽  
...  

Abstract. In the developing rat kidney, there is no separation of the medulla into an outer and inner zone. At the time of birth, ascending limbs with immature distal tubule epithelium are present throughout the renal medulla, all loops of Henle resemble the short loop of adult animals, and there are no ascending thin limbs. It was demonstrated previously that immature thick ascending limbs in the renal papilla are transformed into ascending thin limbs by apoptotic deletion of cells and transformation of the remaining cells into a thin squamous epithelium. However, it is not known whether this is the only source of ascending thin limb cells or whether cell proliferation occurs in the segment undergoing transformation. This study was designed to address these questions and to identify sites of cell proliferation in the loop of Henle. Rat pups, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14 d old, received a single injection of 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) 18 h before preservation of kidneys for immunohistochemistry. Thick ascending and descending limbs were identified by labeling with antibodies against the serotonin receptor, 5-HT1A, and aquaporin-1, respectively. Proliferating cells were identified with an antibody against BrdU. BrdU-positive cells in descending and ascending limbs of the loop of Henle were counted and expressed as percentages of the total number of aquaporin-1—positive and 5-HT1A—positive cells in the different segments. In the developing kidney, numerous BrdU-positive nuclei were observed in the nephrogenic zone. Outside of this location, BrdU-positive tubule cells were most prevalent in medullary rays in the inner cortex and in the outer medulla. BrdU-labeled cells were rare in the papillary portion of the loop of Henle and were not observed in the lower half of the papilla after 3 d of age. BrdU-labeled nuclei were not observed in segments undergoing transformation or in newly formed ascending thin limb epithelium. It was concluded that the growth zone for the loop of Henle is located around the corticomedullary junction, and the ascending thin limb is mainly, if not exclusively, derived from cells of the thick ascending limb.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. F736-F743 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Chattopadhyay ◽  
M. Baum ◽  
M. Bai ◽  
D. Riccardi ◽  
S. C. Hebert ◽  
...  

We recently cloned extracellular Ca(2+)-sensing receptors (CaRs) from bovine parathyroid and rat kidney that play key roles in Ca2+ homeostasis. Inactivating mutations of the CaR in the inherited human disorder, familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia, cause reduced responsiveness of the parathyroid to extracellular Ca2+ (Cao2+), as well as abnormally avid renal tubular reabsorption of both Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the distal tubule, suggesting an important role for the CaR in regulating parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and renal handling of divalent cations. High Cao2+ also inhibits vasopressinstimulated adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate accumulation in the medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) and water reabsorption in the collecting duct (CD) and modulates various other aspects of renal function. The relevance of the CaR to these processes, however, is uncertain. Reduced responsiveness of vasopressin-and PTH-mediated actions on the kidney have been described in the newborn that could potentially reflect effects of the CaR on these aspects of renal function. To define further the role of the CaR in regulating renal function, including the above-mentioned changes during the perinatal period, therefore, we have studied its ontogeny in rat kidney. Northern and Western blot analyses, as well as immunohistochemistry with CaR-specific probes, demonstrate that there is little prenatal expression of the extracellular Ca(2+)-sensing receptor, except in large tubules and branching ureteric buds of developing nephrons. Postnatally, CaR mRNA and protein increase markedly during the 1st wk, related principally to expression of the receptor in the developing TAL and, to a lesser extent, in the CD. The level of expression of the receptor remains nearly constant after postnatal day 14. These results demonstrate that the perinatal increases in expression of CaR mRNA and protein parallel its tissue-specific renal expression. Furthermore, it is possible that some of the previously described changes in renal handling of divalent cations and water in the perinatal and immediate postnatal period are related, in part, to the increasing levels of expression of the CaR and resultant inhibitory effects on the actions of PTH and antidiuretic hormone on the developing nephron.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 2664-2672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Weber ◽  
Karl P. Schlingmann ◽  
Melanie Peters ◽  
Lene Niemann Nejsum ◽  
Søren Nielsen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT. The novel member of the claudin multigene family, paracellin-1/claudin-16, encoded by the genePCLN1, is a renal tight junction protein that is involved in the paracellular transport of magnesium and calcium in the thick ascending limb of Henle’s loop. Mutations in humanPCLN1are associated with familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria and nephrocalcinosis, an autosomal recessive disease that is characterized by severe renal magnesium and calcium loss. The complete coding sequences of mouse and ratPcln1and the murine genomic structure are here presented. Full-length cDNAs are 939 and 1514 bp in length in mouse and rat, respectively, encoding a putative open-reading frame of 235 amino acids in both species with 99% identity. Exon-intron analysis of the human and mouse genes revealed a 100% homology of coding exon lengths and splice-site loci. By radiation hybrid mapping, the murinePcln1gene was assigned directly to marker D16Mit133 on mouse chromosome 16 (syntenic to a locus on human chromosome 3q27, which harbors the humanPCLN1gene). Mouse multiple-tissue Northern blot showedPcln1expression exclusively in the kidney. The expression profile along the nephron was analyzed by reverse transcriptase-PCR on microdissected nephron segments and immunohistochemistry of rat kidney. Paracellin-1 expression was restricted to distal tubular segments including the thick ascending limb of Henle’s loop, the distal tubule, and the collecting duct. The identification and characterization of the rodentPcln1genes provide the basis for further studies of paracellin-1 function in suitable animal models.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (1) ◽  
pp. F184-F193 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Sorenson ◽  
B. J. Padanilam ◽  
M. R. Hammerman

Mice deficient for B cell leukemia/lymphoma gene 2 [bcl-2(-/-) mice] manifest congenital renal hypoplasia and develop multicystic kidney disease and renal failure postnatally. To characterize postpartum renal development, to identify the cellular origin of the cysts, and to provide insight into the role that bcl-2 deficiency plays in the cystogenic process, we examined the morphology of kidneys from bcl-2 (-/-) mice and wild-type littermates [bcl-2 (+/+)] from birth (P0) to postpartum day 28 (P28), determined whether abnormalities of cellular proliferation and apoptosis accompany cyst development, and characterized expression of the bcl-2-related protein, bax. Between P0 and P7, kidneys from bcl-2 (-/-) and bcl-2 (+/+) mice undergo a comparable increase in weight and have similar histological appearances. However, during the next 2 wk of life, weight gain in kidneys from bcl-2 (-/-) mice is reduced compared with that in kidneys from bcl-2 (+/+) animals, and cysts develop in tubules with staining characteristics of proximal tubule, distal tubule/medullary thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, and collecting duct. Unaffected glomeruli and proximal tubules in kidneys of bcl-2 (-/-) mice undergo compensatory growth. Cystogenesis is accompanied by enhanced incorporation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine in cells within cortex and medulla and apoptosis of cells within cysts and in the renal interstitium. Bax protein is expressed in the distal tubule in kidneys of bcl-2 (+/+) and bcl-2 (-/-) mice and in some, but not all cysts. We conclude that abnormal regulation of DNA synthesis and apoptosis accompany cystogenesis in bcl-2 (-/-) mice during postpartum kidney development. Continued expression of bax could enhance apoptotic cell death.0


2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (3) ◽  
pp. F293-F297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Houillier ◽  
Soline Bourgeois

This review will briefly summarize current knowledge on the basolateral ammonia transport mechanisms in the thick ascending limb (TAL) of the loop of Henle. This segment transports ammonia against a concentration gradient and is responsible for the accumulation of ammonia in the medullary interstitium, which, in turn, favors ammonia secretion across the collecting duct. Experimental data indicate that the sodium/hydrogen ion exchanger isoform 4 (NHE4; Scl9a4) is a sodium/ammonia exchanger and plays a major role in this process. Disruption of murine NHE4 leads to metabolic acidosis with inappropriate urinary ammonia excretion and decreases the ability of the TAL to absorb ammonia and to build the corticopapillary ammonia gradient. However, NHE4 does not account for the entirety of ammonia absorption by the TAL, indicating that, at least, one more transporter is involved.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumiko Kiuchi-Saishin ◽  
Shimpei Gotoh ◽  
Mikio Furuse ◽  
Akiko Takasuga ◽  
Yasuo Tano ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT. As the first step in understanding the physiologic functions of claudins (tight junction integral membrane proteins) in nephrons, the expression of claudin-1 to -16 in mouse kidneys was examined by Northern blotting. Among these claudins, only claudin-6, -9, -13, and -14 were not detectable. Claudin-5 and -15 were detected only in endothelial cells. Polyclonal antibodies specific for claudin-7 and -12 were not available. Therefore, the distributions of claudin-1, -2, -3, -4, -8, -10, -11, and -16 in nephron segments were examined with immunofluorescence microscopy. For identification of individual segments, antibodies specific for segment markers were used. Immunofluorescence microscopic analyses of serial frozen sections of mouse kidneys with polyclonal antibodies for claudins and segment markers revealed that claudins demonstrated very complicated, segment-specific, expression patterns in nephrons, i.e., claudin-1 and -2 in Bowman’s capsule, claudin-2, -10, and -11 in the proximal tubule, claudin-2 in the thin descending limb of Henle, claudin-3, -4, and -8 in the thin ascending limb of Henle, claudin-3, -10, -11, and -16 in the thick ascending limb of Henle, claudin-3 and -8 in the distal tubule, and claudin-3, -4, and -8 in the collecting duct. These segment-specific expression patterns of claudins are discussed, with special reference to the physiologic functions of tight junctions in nephrons.


1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (4) ◽  
pp. F461-F468 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. C. Brosius ◽  
K. Nguyen ◽  
A. K. Stuart-Tilley ◽  
C. Haller ◽  
J. P. Briggs ◽  
...  

Chloride/base exchange activity has been detected in every mammalian nephron segment in which it has been sought. However, in contrast to the Cl-/HCO3- exchanger AE1 in type A intercalated cells, localization of AE2 within the kidney has not been reported. We therefore studied AE2 expression in rat kidney. AE2 mRNA was present in cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla. Semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction of cDNA from microdissected tubules revealed AE2 cDNA levels as follows [copies of cDNA derived per mm tubule (+/- SE)]: proximal convoluted tubule, 688 +/- 161; proximal straight tubule, 652 +/- 189; medullary thick ascending limb, 1,378 +/- 226; cortical thick ascending limb, 741 +/- 24; cortical collecting duct, 909 +/- 71; and outer medullary collecting duct, 579 +/- 132. AE2 cDNA was also amplified in thin limbs and in inner medullary collecting duct. AE2 polypeptide was detected in all kidney regions. AE2 mRNA and protein were also detected in several renal cell lines. The data are compatible with the postulated roles of AE2 in maintenance of intracellular pH and chloride concentration and with its possible participation in transepithelial transport.


1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (6) ◽  
pp. F793-F805 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Bosse ◽  
R. Bohm ◽  
S. Resch ◽  
S. Bachmann

Four chronic experiments were performed to assess changes in the activity and gene expression of type I nitric oxide synthase (NOS) at the macula densa (MD) and of renin expression and immunoreactivity (IR) at the juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA) of rat kidney, as follows: 1) two-kidney, one-clip Goldblatt hypertension (2K1C, for 3 and 40 days; sham operation for controls), 2) furosemide treatment (150 mg/kg-1.day-1 ip for 5 days), 3) chronic low-salt diet (0.02%) vs. high-salt diet (3%; both for 11 days), and 4) chronic blockade of NOS by nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 40 mg.kg-1.day-1 for 2 mo). NOS and renin gene expression, NOS enzyme activity and renin IR were semiquantitatively evaluated with histochemical methods (NADPH diaphorase, in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry). In 2K1C, marked increases were induced in NOS and renin in the ischemic vs. contralateral kidneys both after 3 and 40 days, respectively (P < 0.05). Related to controls, significant increases in the ischemic kidney were encountered after 3 and 40 days, whereas contralateral suppression of NOS and renin was found only after 40 days. Furosemide treatment resulted in a marked increase of both NOS and renin levels compared with controls (P < 0.05). Salt restriction induced a significant elevation of NOS levels compared with salt loading (P < 0.05), whereas only minor changes were evident in renin levels. L-NAME treatment resulted in a moderate reduction of NOS activity (not significant), whereas renin levels were markedly reduced (P < 0.05). These results show that NOS activity and gene expression are inversely related to chronic changes in renal perfusion, salt balance, and salt transport at the distal tubule in parallel with the known response of renin to these changes. Inhibition of NOS decreases renin levels at the JGA. The histochemical findings support previous concepts that MD-derived NO is involved in the control of renin synthesis.


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