Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) Flashcards
How many L of blood are filtered by glomeruli? How many are excreted in urine?
180L
only a small fraction of the filtrate (0.6-2.5 litres) is excreted as urine
What is the FF? Is it a fixed number? What influences the FF?
The exact proportion between glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and the renal plasma flow (RPF) rate is not fixed but may vary depending on the magnitude of GFR, the composition of the blood and the condition of the glomerular capillary. The ratio of GFR/RPF is called the filtration fraction (FF).
Explain Rudolf Heidenhain’s view of GF and what experiment he did to think this.
- Thought renal tubules secrete (things that are not needed by body)
- Experiment: Took rabbits and injected dyes indigo kurmin – taken up by renal tubules cells. When dissecting kidneys, he realized dyes went primarily in cells of proximal tubules at the beginning, and then in lumen of tubules later.
Explain Carl Ludwig’s view of GF.
- Thought everything should be explainable in mechanistic terms using the laws of physics
- Said that kidneys must filter a large volume and then reabsorb the volume. But pretty inefficient?
- Would need to filter 70L of fluid per day to get rid of the amount of urea we have in our urine. But nature would never make something so inefficient…
- Truth: Urea is actually reabsorbed by renal tubules, so need to filter 180L per day!
Does every species have glomeruli in their kidneys?
No, some fishes don’t have glomeruli but have a tubule
What is the glomerular capillary wall made of? (3)
From the inside out:
- Endothelial cells
- The glomerular basement membrane (GBM)
- Visceral epithelial cells
Name the 3 cellular components of the glomerulus
- Epithelial cells (podocytes)
- Endothelial cells (blood vessels)
- Mesengial cells (pericytes)
Name 2 functions of podocytes.
a. Synthesis of matrix components (in mesengium)
b. Maintenance of capillary wall permeability
Name 1 function of the epithelial cells of the glomerulus.
a. Synthesis of matrix components (which go to basement membrane)
Name 3 functions of pericytes.
a. Contain contractile elements and receptors for angiotensin II and other factors that regulate renal hemodynamics (thus they contract when stimulated by those different agonists)
b. Contribute to the synthesis of matrix components (which go to mesengium)
c. Have capacity for phagocytosis (cleaning function)
Strategically situated at the branchpoints of the capillaries – control diameter of capillary through contraction –> regulates blood flow; increases and decreases surface area
What is a fenestra
spaces between endothelial layer which allow most small solutes to go through
How many layers does the glomerular barrier have? what are they?
Glomerular barrier (basement membrane) is tri-layered
- lamina rara externa,
- lamina interna
- lamina densa
What is a slit diaphragm
Tight junctions in the glomerular epithelium (visceral epithelium) are specialized for filtration.
They have a pore in the center which discriminates molecules that can go through in terms of size. Smaller than albumin molecules; thus prevents filtration of big proteins
Epithelial cells have slit diaphragm and endothelial cells have fenestra.
What synthesizes the components of the GBM and the mesengial matrix?
The epithelial, endothelial, and mesangial cells.
Name 4 components of the GBM and mesengial matrix
- Type IV collagen (backbone of the GBM, and main molecular sieve)
- laminin (anchors cells to GBM collagen)
- fibronectin (cell attachment protein)
- heparan sulfate proteoglycan (electronegative barrier)
What is type IV collagen? What is its structure? Function?
o distinct from interstitial collagens I, II and III
o triple helical, three domains
o Structural support; forms 2D mesh
o Pressure in glomerular barrier is 10x higher than blood everywhere else. Type 4 collagen allows structural support for higher pressures
What is laminin? What is its function? Where is it located?
o Attachment protein
o Concentrated in lamina rara interna and externa
o Important connection for podocytes to GBM