Diuretics Flashcards
What are diuretics?
Drugs that act on the renal tubule to promote the excretion of Na+, Cl- and H2O
Where is a lot of sodium reabsorbed?
In the proximal tubule
How dos sodium diffuse into the epithelial cell?
On the apical side there are Na+ channels
What happens once sodium is in the epithelial cell?
Na+/K+ ATPase pumps sodium out of the cell and into the blood in exchange for K+
What effect does the oncotic pressure exerted by the proteins in the capillaries have?
It exerts an important force in drawing water into the capillaries
How much protein is there in the filtrate?
None
What is another route of ion and water movement apart from the main one?
Paracellular pathway
What is the paracellular pathway dependent on?
Gap junctions between cells
Where is there a lot of paracellular pathway in use?
Proximal tubule has large gap junctions between cells so there is a fair amount of movement of ions and water via the paracellular pathway
Apart from water and ions, what else is reabsorbed lots in the proximal tubule?
Glucose and amino acids
What does reabsorption of glucose and amino acids tend to be coupled with?
Sodium reabsorption
What is sodium exchange linked to?
Carbonic anhydrase
What does carbonic anhydrase do?
It converts CO2 + H2O to HCO3- + H+ (reversible reaction)
What happens after H+ and HCO3- is filtered by the glomerulus into the filtrate?
They then interact with membrane bound carbonic anhydrase which converts it to CO2 and H2O
What can CO2 and H2O do?
Freely diffuse into the cell
What happens once CO2 and H2o enters the cell?
They are acted on by carbonic anhydrase that converts them back to H+ and HCO3-
What happens to the H+ and HCO3- once formed in the cell?
The HCO3- ions are reabsorbed into the capillaries along with sodium (Na+/HCO3- co transport)
The H+ is used to drive the Na+/H+ exchanger at the apical membrane
What is the end result of the interaction between sodium exchange and carbonic anhydrase?
A lot of sodium, bicarbonate and water reabsorption
How are exogenous agents (drugs) removed by the kidneys?
They can be removed through transport proteins that pick up the drugs as they pass through the kidneys and transport them into the lumen
What percentage of filtered fluid is reabsorbed in the PCT?
About 65-70%
In the loop of Henle, how do the two limbs differ in permeability?
The descending limb is freely permeable to water
Ascending limb is not permeable
How does water transport in the descending limb work?
It is very straight forward- water moves straight from the tubule lumen, through the epithelial cells into the interstitium
What is the Na+/K+/2Cl- transporter responsible for?
Transporting these three ions into the epithelial cels from the lumen in the ascending limb
Which two channels on the basolateral membrane are responsible for moving Na+/K+/2Cl- into the intersitium?
Na+/K+ ATPase
K+/Cl- cotransporter
These are present through the nephron because it maintains the concentration gradient that allows absorption of electrolytes from lumen into the cell
Which limb of the loop of Henle can reabsorb Na+?
Ascending
What happens to the interstitial after sodium transport into it?
It becomes hypertonic and fluid in ascending limb becomes hypotonic
What effect does the medullary interstitium becoming hypertonic have?
It will draw more water from descending limb so fluid in descending limb will become more hypertonic because you’re removing water but sodium is being retained
What is the end result of the transport in loop of Henle?
You have very concentrated interstitium
Why is the countercurrent effect called countercurrent?
Capillaries that pass through this pass in the opposite direction to the flow of fluid