Renal Regulation of Ion and Water Balance Flashcards
How does the body gain water?
Via ingestion and internal production
How does the body lose water?
Via urine, the GIT, and evaporation from the skin and respiratory tract (insensible water loss and sweat)
How does the body gain Na+ and Cl-?
By ingestion
How does the body lose Na+ and Cl-?
Via the skin (sweat), the GIT and urine
What is the major homeostatic control point for both Na+ and water?
Renal excretion
What is the average daily water gain/loss in adults?
2850ml
What is the daily sodium chloride intake and output?
8.50g
What is the basic renal process for sodium and water?
- Na+ is freely filterable at the glomerulus; its reabsorption is a primary active process dependent upon Na+/K+ ATPase
- Na+ is not secreted
Where are the Na+/K+ ATPase found?
In the basolateral membranes of the tubular epithelium
What is the Na+ entry into tubular epithelial cells from the tubular lumen like?
It is always passive, either through ion channels or by co-transport or countertransport with other substances
What are the methods of sodium reabsorption like in proximal tubule?
- Apical membrane transport: co-transport or countertransport
- Basolateral membrane transport
- Sodium recyclcing
What is co-transport across the apical membrane like?
Cotransport (with other molecules like glucose or amino acids) moves Na+ into the cell alongside other substances
What is the Na+ counter-transport process like?
Countertransport (or antiport) exchanges Na+ for hydrogen ions (H+), meaning Na+ enters the cell while H + is secreted back into the lumen.
What is the basolateral membrane transport like?
Once inside the proximal tubule cell, Na+ is pumped out across the basolateral membrane into the interstitial fluid.
This is done by the Na+/K+ ATPase pump (Na+/K+ pump), which uses ATP to actively transport Na+ out of the cell and K+ into the cell. This pump maintains a low Na+ concentration inside the cell, enabling continuous Na+ reabsorption from the lumen.
What is potassium recycling like?
Potassium ions brought into the cell by the Na+/K+ pump are recycled back out through potassium channels in the basolateral membrane, maintaining cellular K+ balance.
What is the apical membrane transport of sodium like in the cortical collecting duct?
Sodium ions (Na+) enter the cortical collecting duct cell from the tubular lumen through sodium channels located on the apical membrane. This movement occurs via diffusion, driven by the concentration gradient of Na+ across the membrane.
What is the effect of sodium reabsorption in regards to water?
It creates an osmotic difference across the tubule, which drives water reabsorption, largely through water channels
What are the water channels called?
Aquaporins
Up until which part is water reabsorption independent of the posterior pituitary hormone vasopressin?
Until the point where it reaches the collecting-duct system, where vasopressin increases water permeability
What is the posterior pituitary hormone vasopressin also known as?
ADH; anti-diuretic hormone
What is the effect of low vasopressin and, hence, low water reabsorption?
A large volume of dilute urine
What is the coupling of water and Na+ reabsorption process like?
- Sodium enters the tubular epithelial cells from the tubular lumen passively, “downhill”
- As Na+ accumulates in the epithelial cell, the local osmolarity within the cell rises, and the osmolarity in the lumen decreases.
The increase in osmolarity inside the cell and in the surrounding interstitial fluid (once Na+ is pumped out of the cell) drives water reabsorption by osmosis. - Water moves from the tubular lumen into tubular epithelial cells via osmosis due to the osmotic pressure created by the Na+
- Na+ is actively transported from the tubular epithelial cells into the interstitial fluid, through Na+/K+ ATPase.
- This active transport of Na+ into the interstitial space further raises the osmolarity there, drawing water from the cell and interstitial space into the peritubular capillaries by bulk flow.
What drives bulk flow?
High osmolarity and oncotic pressure in the interstitial fluid, helping maintain blood volume and pressure.
What causes the increased urine excretion?
low vasopressin (ADH) –> water diuresis
What pathology is associated with the consequences of losing control or response to vasopressin?
Diabetes insipidus
What are the two types of diabetes insipidus?
Central diabetes insipidus
Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
What causes central diabetes insipidus?
The failure of the posterior pituitary gland to release vasopressin
What causes nephrogenic diabetes insipidus?
Inability of the kidneys to respond to vasopressin
What is the term osmotic diuresis?
Any loss of solute in the urine must be accompanied by water loss
What happens to the urine volume when plasma vasopressin concentration is high?
A small volume of concentrated urine is produced by the renal countercurrent multiplier system
Which part of the loop of Henle is relatively impermeable to water?
The ascending loop of Henle
What is the effect of active transport of sodium chloride by the ascending loop of Henle?
Causes increased osmolarity of the interstitial fluid of the medulla but a dilution of the luminal fluid
What is the permeability of the descending loop of Henle?
Relatively impermeable to solutes and freely permeable to water