4 - Renal Tubular Transport Flashcards
What are processes in the kidney that determine the final composition of urine?
RPF, GFR, and reabsorption.
For many substances, what percentage of of the filtered load (from the glomerulus) is reabsorbed? Give a few examples of substances for which this is true.
Over 99%.
Glucose, bicarb, sodium, chloride.
What is the structure of renal tubules?
They are a collection of epithelial cells organized analogously to a 6-pack of cans held together with plastic rings.
Top of can = apical or luminal side of cells
Sides and bottoms of cans = basolateral or interstitial side of the cells.
Plastic rings = tight junctions
What are the basic pathways that fluid can be reabsorbed from the lumen? Is energy used?
By paracellular (across the tight junctions) or transcellular (across the cells) pathways.
This can be active (coupled to ATP) or passive diffusion.
How does water move across the renal epithelial cells?
Via osmosis, therefore it will follow solute reabsorption in the segments that are permeable to water.
Why is the mechanism for sodium handling so important?
It’s the most common cation in the ECF.
The reabsorption of other substances is dependent (directly or indirectly) on the tubular handling of sodium and potassium by the Na/K ATPase on the basolateral membranes of epithlial cells. .
What is the function of the Na/K ATPase? Why is this important?
Maintain a low intracellular Na and a high intracellular K to maintain a charge of ~70mV inside the cell.
This gradient is used in many co/counter transport systems in which other solutes are reabsorbed or secreted in mechanisms coupled to sodiums movement into the cell.
What does the proximal tubule (PT) reabsorb?
67% filtered water, Na+, and K+ (water follows Na passively-isosmotic reabsorption)
50% filtered urea
85% filtered HCO3-
~100% filtered load of glucose, amino acids, and protein.
Where is the energy for PT reabsorption obtained from?
Na/K ATPase pump.
What does the reabsorption of NaHCO3 and water generate?
A Cl- gradient which is the force for the passive reabsorption of sodium.
What is one mechanism by which sodium is reabsorbed in the PT?
1/3 occurs by the Na/H counter-transporter.
Uses electrochemical gradient for sodium reabsorption in PT cells and couples it to the secretion of H ion.
Where is bicarbonate permeable to the PT cells?
It is impermeable to the apical membrane, but the brush borders of the membrane and the cytoplasm contain carbonic anhydrase (ca).
What is the role of carbonic anhydrase?
In the tubular lumen, filtered bicarb combines with H+ ions to form carbonic acid (H2CO3); this dissociates into CO2 and H2O (catalyzed by CA).
What happens to the CO2 and H2O created by carbonic anhydrase.
CO2 diffuses into the cytoplasm to combine with water and participate in the reverse rxn to reform HCO3- and H+.
HCO3- can then move across the basolateral membrane by a transporter while H+ is secreted by the Na/H exchanger.
What are the three things that the Na/H exchanger and CA accomplish together?
Sodium reabsorption, bicarbonate reabsorption, and acid secretion.
What is a second major mechanism for sodium reabsorption in the PT?
Co-transport with glucose or amino acids. Takes advantage of the gradient favoring reabsorption of sodium.
This accounts for the reabsorption of 100% of the filtered load of glucose and aas and ~1/3 of the sodium reabsorption.
What is a third mechanism for sodium reabsorption in the PT?
An Na/H exchanger that’s coupled to an anion/Cl exchanger in which the anion is going into the lumen and the Cl- is reabsorbed.
Anions include formate, hydroxide, oxalate, or sulfate