Renal Flashcards
What is the functional unit of the kidney?
Uriniferous tubule (nephron + collecting duct).
What comprises the nephron?
Glomerulus (filters blood, makes ultrafiltrate) and tubular sustem (PCT, LOH, DCT) (filters ultrafiltrate, makes urine).
What are the types of nephrons?
Cortical (6/7) and juxtamedullary (1/7).
What is special about kidney circulation?
Has two capillary beds, an afferent arteriole -> CN (glomerulus) -> efferent arteriole -> CN -> venule. The second capillary network is either peritubular capillaries or vasa recta.
What sort of tissue is the kidney primarily made of?
Epithelium.
What tissue besides epithelium is in the kidney?
LCT renal intetstitium.
What is the renal corpuscle?
The glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule. It has a vascular pole where the arterioles enter/leave, and a urinary pole where the PCT begins.
Describe the Bowman’s space.
Has a parietal layer (simple squamous) and visceral layer (Podocytes).
Describe the kidney filtration apparatus.
In the bowman’s space, the pore of the glomerular endothelial cell + the discontinuous basal lamina + the slit in the membrane between Pedicels. The filtration slits are covered in nephrin (hooked to an IC signalling pathway that communicates with the Podocyte).
What are mesangial cells?
They are located between capillaries in the kidney - cover capillary surfaces not covered by podocytes. The extraglomerular ones are called lacis cells.
What are the cells of the PCT and straight proximal tubule like?
Simple cuboidal - long, dense, apical microvilli. Boundaries between adjoining cells not clear or sharp. Many infoldings of BM and mitochondria to capacitate transporters, abundant pinocytotic pits and vesicles.
Which cells secrete erythropoietin?
Fibroblasts in the PCT between the basement membrane of the tubule and the capillary.
What are the cells of the thin Loop of Henle like?
Simple squamous.
What are the cells of the ascending thick loop of Henle like?
Identical to distal tubule, simple cuboidal, no microvilli, lumen larger and ‘emptier’ than proximal tubule, has modified region called Macula Densa (taller).
What comprises the juxtaglomerular apparatus?
The Macula Densa, Lacis cells, and Juxtaglomerular cells (in aferent arteriole, secrete renin).
What does the macula densa do?
Senses sodium concentration in the urine (or lowered blood volume), and signals juxtaglomerular cells.
What are the portions of the collecting duct?
Collecting tubule, cortical collecting duct, medullary collecting duct, papillary ducts/ducts of Bellini (end at renal papilla).
What are the cells of the collecting duct like?
Simple cuboidal, distinct lateral boundaries. As the tube widens, the cells increase in height.
What is the medullary ray?
Straight tubes (straight prox and distal tubules and also collecting duct) going to and from medulla.
What things comprise the renal lobule?
The medullary ray and cortical labyrinth.
What are the types of cells in the distal tubule and collecting duct?
Principal cells and intercalated cells (both cuboidal). Principal is more abundant, have numerous basal infoldings, distinct lateral margins, few microvilli. Intercalated cells are far fewer and actively secrete H+.
What are primary cilia?
SOlitary projections found on almost all eukaryotic cells, immotile, act as antennae. In the kidney they are the primary sense for fluid flow coming out of the collecting tubule.
What is Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Primary cilia can no longer detect fluid dlow so the cell forms bigger tubules, eventually cysts form. Symptoms between 30-40 years of age.
What is lined by urothelium?
Calyces, ureter, bladder, urethra.
What are the layers of the ureter?
Urothelium, basal lamina, muscularis mucosa, serosa (simple squamous epithelium).
What do glomerular capillaries do?
Only filtration.
What do peritubular capillaries do?
Absorption and secretion.
How much water and salts reabsorption is done in which parts of the kidney tubular system?
2/3 in proximal tubule, 1/3 in distal.
What is clearance?
The volume of plasma cleared of a substance per unit of time.
How is clearance calculated?
Urine flow X urine concentration / Arterial plasma (must make sure plasma concentration is constant) mL/min units.
What is filtration fraction? What is the normal?
GFR/RPF. 20%
What is fractional excretion?
Cx/GFR
What is normal renal blood flow?
1100mL/min (25% of CO)
What is normal RPF?
600mL/min.
How do you calculate the amount excreted?
Urine flow rate X urine concentration.
How do you calculate amount filtered?
GFR X Pa
What is special about inulin?
Ms = Mr = 0 C=GFR = 120mL/min
What is special about PAH?
Totally secreted - C=RPF = 600mL/min
What is special about glucose?
Totally reabsorbed, C=0 except for transport maximum.
What is a positive and negative N balance?
A net synthesis of body protein or a net breakdown
What are the purely glucogenic essential amino acids?
His, Met, Thr, Val.
What are the purely ketogenic essential amino acids?
Ile, Phe, Trp.
What are the essential amino acids that are both ketogenic and glucogenic?
Leu, Lys.
How is nitrogen carried back to the liver and kidney?
Via alanine and glutamine. Muscle preferably sends Ala, most peripheral tissues send Gln. Alanine goes straight to the liver, Glutamine can be broken to Alanine in the intestine, or the kidney can just use Glutamine for energy.
How are amino acids broken down?
First a nitrogen is transgered to an alpha-ketoglutarate by aminotransferase, making glutamate. The nitrogen can be released as ammonia by glutamate dehydrogenase (uses an NADP or an NADPH).
What is a common cofactor for aminotransferases?
B6.
When are AST and ALT elevated?
In liver disease. Also both are elevated in MI, muscle disorders. ALT is somewhat more specific for liver disease.
What does ALT do?
Transfers a nitrogen from Ala to alpha-ketoglutarate, making a glutamate.
What does AST do?
Transfers a nitrogen from Glu to oxaloacetate, making Aspartic Acid.
How does glutamate contribute to the urea cycle?
Converted to glutamine via glutamine synthetase in the tissues. Glutamine then goes to the liver and releases nitrogens via glutaminase to go to urea (regenerates glutamate).
What is the amino acid you want for the urea cycle?
Glutamate.
How does alanine contribute to the urea cycle?
In the liver amines are sent to glutamate (generating pyruvate).
How many grams of protein generate how much urea?
3g protein to 1g urea.
Describe the urea cycle.
Bicarbonate and ammonia converted to carbamoyl phosphate via carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I. Costs 2 ATPs. With ornithine and via ornithine transcarbamoylase, CP is made to citrulline. With aspartate and via arginosuccinate synthase, arginosuccinate is made. Costs 2ATPs. Via arginosuccinate lyase, fumarate and arginine are made. Arginine is then added to water and converted to ornithine and urea.
How is CPSI regulated?
N- acetylglutamate is an allosteric activator, arginine regulates its synthesis.
How are urea cycle deficiencies treated?
Avoid protein, fasting, low carbs, stress, replace amino acids with their alpha ketoacids. In the case of an arginosuccinate lyase deficiency, just give arginine (it can be excreted).
Where does the urea cycle take place?
In the mitochondria, but citrulline is sent to the cytosol.
How much energy does the urea cycle net use or make?
Makes 1 ATP.
What is the fate of fumarate?
Converted to malate, then oxaloacetate, then aspartate.
How can hyperammonemia be treated?
Benzoate (reacts with glycine to make hippuric acid), and phenybutyrate (converted to phenylacetate in body, reacts with glutamine).