The effect of big endothelin-1 in the proximal tubule of the rat kidney

Thick Ascending Limb Sodium Transport in the Pathogenesis of Hypertension

The thick ascending limb plays a key role in maintaining water and electrolyte balance. The importance of this segment in regulating blood pressure is evidenced by the effect of loop diuretics or local genetic defects on this parameter. Hormones and factors produced by thick ascending limbs have both autocrine and paracrine effects, which can extend prohypertensive signaling to other structures of the nephron. In this review, we discuss the role of the thick ascending limb in the development of hypertension, not as a sole participant, but one that works within the rich biological context of the renal medulla. We first provide an overview of the basic physiology of the segment and the anatomical considerations necessary to understand its relationship with other renal structures. We explore the physiopathological changes in thick ascending limbs occurring in both genetic and induced animal models of hypertension. We then discuss the racial differences and genetic defects that affect blood pressure in humans through changes in thick ascending limb transport rates. Throughout the text, we scrutinize methodologies and discuss the limitations of research techniques that, when overlooked, can lead investigators to make erroneous conclusions. Thus, in addition to advancing an understanding of the basic mechanisms of physiology, the ultimate goal of this work is to understand our research tools, to make better use of them, and to contextualize research data. Future advances in renal hypertension research will require not only collection of new experimental data, but also integration of our current knowledge.

Lipid imaging within the normal rat kidney using silver nanoparticles by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

The well-characterized cellular and structural components of the kidney show distinct regional compositions and distribution of lipids. In order to more fully analyze the renal lipidome we developed a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry approach for imaging that may be used to pinpoint sites of changes from normal in pathological conditions. This was accomplished by implanting sagittal cryostat rat kidney sections with a stable, quantifiable and reproducible uniform layer of silver using a magnetron sputtering source to form silver nanoparticles. Thirty-eight lipid species including seven ceramides, eight diacylglycerols, 22 triacylglycerols, and cholesterol were detected and imaged in positive ion mode. Thirty-six lipid species consisting of seven sphingomyelins, 10 phosphatidylethanolamines, one phosphatidylglycerol, seven phosphatidylinositols, and 11 sulfatides were imaged in negative ion mode for a total of seventy-four high-resolution lipidome maps of the normal kidney. Thus, our approach is a powerful tool not only for studying structural changes in animal models of disease, but also for diagnosing and tracking stages of disease in human kidney tissue biopsies.

Effect of glycerol on endothelium-derived factors in the vasculature of the rabbit kidney

1. In the present study, endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF/nitric oxide (NO)), conversion of big endothelin (ET)-1 to endothelin-1 (ET-1) and the role of reactive oxygen species were investigated in kidneys isolated from glycerol (GLY)-pretreated rabbits. 2. Acetylcholine (ACh)-induced vasodilation that is due to the release of EDRF/NO is significantly decreased, whereas big ET-1-induced vasoconstriction was increased in kidneys isolated from GLY-pretreated rabbits. 3. Pretreatment of rabbits with the xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol and the NO precursor L-arginine reversed the inhibition of ACh-induced vasodilation due to GLY and protects the kidney vasculature. 4. Big ET-1, but not ET-1, responses were found to be significantly increased in kidneys isolated from GLY-pretreated rabbits. This increase is attributed to the higher conversion rate of big ET-1 to ET-1 because the ET-converting enzyme (ECE) inhibitor phosphoramidon, at a concentration of 10(-6) mol/L, causes an inhibition in the response to big ET-1 by 52.6% in normal kidneys, whereas this inhibition with the same concentration of phosphoramidon was found to be significantly decreased in kidneys isolated from GLY-pretreated rabbits. 5. The non-selective NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L- arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) caused a significant potentiation in the vasoconstrictor response to ET-1 in normal isolated perfused rabbit kidneys. However, L-NAME did not alter the responses to ET-1 in GLY-pretreated kidneys. 6. These results indicate that accumulation of reactive oxygen species causes an inhibition in NO bioavailability. Increased conversion of big ET-1 to ET-1 may also contribute to the mechanism of vascular damage due to GLY.