Notch Signaling in Nephron Segmentation

Joo-Seop Park , Raphael Kopan , in Kidney Evolution, Illness, Repair and Regeneration, 2016

Nephron Sectionalisation

The nephron is a blood filtration apparatus carrying out boosted functions such as pH regulation and reabsorption of h2o and solutes. Blood is filtered at the glomerulus ( Figure eight.two(C)). The filtrate travels through a long tubule composed of various segments with highly specialized functions and different shapes (lumen diameter and cellular morphology) and information technology arrives at the float as concentrated urine. Because different segments of the nephron along the proximal-to-distal axis accept different physiological functions regarding reabsorption and secretion, multiple types of epithelial cells are required to make a nephron and all of the different types of regionalized epithelial cells of the nephron originate from the cap mesenchyme [ii,3]. Although not all of the steps involved in forming all the epithelial cell types from this mutual progenitor population are fully understood, Notch signaling has important roles early in the process that affects later prison cell fate determination during nephrogenesis.

The proximal-to-distal axis of the nephron is defined by the altitude from the glomerulus. Proximal structures include the glomerulus and the tubules close to it whereas distal tubules class far from the glomerulus and are connected to the collecting duct (Figure 8.two(C)). The get-go signs of nephron segmentation can be detected inside the RV through the domains of gene expression dividing the RV into proximal and distal parts [28]. Genes that are activated by Wnt/β-catenin signaling are expressed in the distal office [25]. These include Fgf8, Bmp2, and Dkk1 [28,29]. The two Notch ligand encoding genes, Jag1 and Dll1, are also expressed at the distal part of RV [4,25,28], although they are activated after Wnt/β-catenin signaling is deactivated [25]. It was shown that activation of Dll1 requires Lhx1 [xxx], whose expression is also activated after Wnt/β-catenin signaling is deactivated [25,thirty]. It is possible that Lhx1 links Wnt/β-catenin signaling and Notch signaling. Expression of Six2 and Wt1, two markers for the cap mesenchyme, is yet detected in the proximal part of RV [25,28]. Because the distal and proximal parts of RV are ready upwardly co-ordinate to the relative distance from the collecting duct, it is tempting to speculate that Wnt9b or other signaling molecules secreted from the collecting duct may provide a cue to initiate polarization of RV that leads to nephron segmentation [31].

The nephron is connected to the collecting duct system in a process that is initiated at RV and completed at the SSB. The distal end of RV invades into the collecting duct epithelium and the luminal interconnection between a developing nephron and the collecting duct seems to form at the tardily SSB phase [28,32]. The connection of nephrons to the collecting duct occurs even in the mutant kidney lacking the proximal segments of nephrons [4,16], but not in the mutant kidney whose developing nephrons are proximalized [32]. Therefore, the ability to make a connection to the collecting duct seems an intrinsic belongings of the distal segment of RV and SSB.

The fact that SSB can form proximal tubules in the presence of γ-secretase inhibition [16] suggested that major regional identities are already established at SSB. Southward-shaped bodies tin can exist divided into three segments: proximal, medial, and distal [28]. The distal segment of SSB, marked by the expression of Lgr5 [33], forms the distal tubules and connecting segment lineages every bit well as the thick ascending limb. Likewise, Cre recombinase under the control of cis-regulatory elements controlling expression of Osr2 (Osr2-IRES-Cre) marking the median and distal segments of SSB and the marked cells develop into proximal tubules and glomeruli [34]. Although lineage analysis of other nephron segments progenitors within the SSB has not been completed, it is likely that the proximal and medial segments of SSB class glomeruli and proximal tubules, respectively (Effigy 8.2(C)). Because the medial office of SSB gives ascension to at least half of the loop of Henle [33], it is possible that the nephron fates are elaborated along the P/D axis of the SSB.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://world wide web.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128001028000084

Microfluidic modeling of the glomerulus and tubular appartus

Gretchen J. Mahler , Stephanie Zhang , in Regenerative Nephrology (Second Edition), 2022

Abstract

The kidneys are responsible for blood filtration, osmoregulation, and reuptake and receive ~    25% of cardiac output. This highlights the importance of understanding interactions between kidneys and new drug candidates, and why kidney toxicity is one of the almost widely reported adverse effects during drug evolution. Preclinical studies using static human being cell cultures lack the physiological stimuli and tissue architecture found in vivo. Animal studies have allowed for a greater agreement of disease mechanisms, but their value in predicting drug efficacy for affliction treatment and prevention remains uncertain. Organ on a fleck or microphysiological systems are a technology that can overcome some of the in vitro cell-based and in vivo brute model shortcomings.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128233184000214

Spleen

Sonam Prakash , Attilio Orazi , in Gattuso's Differential Diagnosis in Surgical Pathology (4th Edition), 2022

Abstruse

The spleen has important immunologic and claret filtration functions. It is composed of 2 anatomically and functionally distinct regions: white pulp and reddish lurid. The white pulp includes lymphoid follicles composed of mostly B-cells and the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS) composed of by and large CD4-positive T-cells. Immunologically activated spleen shows lymphoid follicles with 3 distinct zones: germinal heart, mantle zone, and marginal zone. The red pulp is composed of vascular sinuses and cords of Billroth. The sinus-lining cells, likewise called littoral cells, have overlapping cytoplasmic processes without tight junctions. Deformable circulating blood cells squeeze through spaces between the littoral cells and percolate through the cords of Billroth to enter the splenic sinuses and venous arrangement and render to the systemic circulation. The red pulp contains a few lymphocytes that are predominantly CD8-positive T-cells, numerous macrophages, and a few granulocytes and plasma cells. Natural killer cells are scattered throughout the red pulp and within germinal centers. Most hematologic malignancies in the spleen represent secondary involvement. Estimation of splenic pathology includes careful gross evaluation, ensuring optimal tissue fixation and processing, and obtaining fresh fabric for flow cytometric immunophenotyping and cytogenetic analysis if a hematopoietic neoplasm is suspected. Obtaining adequate clinical information is critical in diagnosing disorders involving the spleen. In this chapter, nosotros draw the salient features of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic disorders likely to be encountered by pathologists. These include diseases involving the white pulp and ruby-red lurid, vascular tumors, cysts and pseudotumoral lesions, circulatory abnormalities, vasculitis, and infections involving the spleen. We provide clinical features, gross and histologic findings, ancillary studies, and differential diagnoses for these entities.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323661652000156

Nephron Repair in Mammals and Fish

Zhenzhen Peng , ... Alan J. Davidson , in Kidney Transplantation, Bioengineering and Regeneration, 2017

71.1 Introduction

The vertebrate kidney serves as the cardinal organ for blood filtration, removal of metabolic waste product, blood pressure homeostasis, and maintenance of water and electrolyte residuum. one,2 Across all vertebrate species, from fish to mammals, the functions of the kidney are carried out by conserved functional units called nephrons. In most cases, nephrons are comprised of a blood filter (glomerulus (GL)) attached to a tubule that is divided into functionally singled-out proximal and distal segments. As the glomerular filtrate passes along the tubule it is progressively modified by the absorptive and secretory activities of the proximal and distal segments.

The proximal tubule segment, divided into S1, S2, and S3 subsegments in mammals, is responsible for the reabsorption of effectually two-thirds of the glomerular filtrate. Due to its high metabolic rate, the proximal tubule is highly susceptible to ischemic or nephrotoxic injury, with the S3 subdivision in mammals existence particularly decumbent to injury caused by hypoperfusion. three Diverse studies, including techniques such as genetic fate mapping, take shown that the mammalian proximal tubule tin regenerate afterward injury. four–8 Although historically controversial, the weight of evidence indicates that this regeneration process likely depends upon surviving tubular cells. The about commonly believed concept for tubular regeneration/repair is that sublethally damaged proximal tubule cells dedifferentiate, proliferate, and so redifferentiate to replace damaged portions of the tubule. 4,6,8 This repair pathway appears to likewise be operative in fish such as zebrafish, a widely used laboratory model, but in addition, fish possess the ability to generate new nephrons (neonephrogenesis).

In this chapter, nosotros review our understanding of tubule self-repair in mammals and fish and the neonephrogenesis pathway in the zebrafish. A ameliorate understanding of these regenerative processes may lead to insights that will help accelerate the development of novel treatments for promoting proximal tubule repair in humans with astute kidney injury.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://world wide web.sciencedirect.com/science/commodity/pii/B9780128017340000710

Zebrafish Renal Development and Regeneration

Rachel C. Dodd , Alan J. Davidson , in Kidney Development, Disease, Repair and Regeneration, 2016

Overview

The vertebrate kidney plays critical roles in body fluid homeostasis and metabolic waste matter removal via blood filtration and the excretion/absorption of solutes and water. The workhorse of the kidney is the nephron, which is structurally and functionally conserved amidst vertebrates and comprises two major parts: the glomerular claret filter and the renal tubules. The ultrafiltrate produced by the glomerulus enters the tubules and is sequentially modified via selective solute reabsorption and secretion [1]. In general, the tubule tin can be broadly divided into proximal tubule segments, where the majority of filtrate reabsorption takes place; intermediate segments for the concentration of urine (found but in reptiles, birds, and mammals); and distal tubule segments, where more than specialized fine-tuning of salt and acrid–base of operations balance takes identify. This process is vital for the regulation of electrolyte levels, osmolarity, claret pressure level, and pH balance, and disruption of nephron function manifests every bit a variety of clinical conditions.

How the nephron forms during kidney organogenesis remains poorly understood, in office because the circuitous architecture of the mammalian kidney renders close investigation of nephrogenesis a challenge. In contrast, lower vertebrate models such every bit the zebrafish develop insufficiently unproblematic embryonic kidneys. The transparency of zebrafish embryos coupled with their external development, rapid growth, and a range of genetic tools means that cistron expression and function tin be readily assessed at a loftier cellular resolution. As a upshot, the zebrafish is providing new insights into how the nephron forms during embryogenesis.

Nephron regeneration besides has recently become the focus of intense study. The mammalian nephron has a limited chapters for regeneration simply is able to repair localized lesions in the proximal tubule. Nonetheless, the ability of mammals to generate nephrons is restricted to stages of embryonic or early on postnatal life, when the kidney is undergoing organogenesis. In contrast, zebrafish and other teleosts retain the power to generate new nephrons during adulthood in response to growth or injury. This pathway of de novo nephron germination (called neonephrogenesis) is poorly understood just might provide key insights into developing novel regeneration-based therapies for humans. This chapter focuses on the use of zebrafish to empathise nephrogenesis in both developmental and regenerative contexts. How zebrafish take advanced our agreement of the developmental pathways controlling nephron formation, as well as an examination of the "neonephrogenic" response that occurs in the adult zebrafish kidney, are discussed.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128001028000011

How to Build a Kidney

Mor Grinstein , Thomas M. Schultheiss , in Principles of Developmental Genetics (2nd Edition), 2015

The Pronephric Glomerulus

In the pronephros, the early on vertebrate nephron, the glomerulus or glomus is responsible for claret filtration. The glomerular blood supply is derived from capillaries branching from the dorsal aorta. These capillary tufts either hang in the body cavity as a multi-segmental vascular structure, or exist in a closed nephron, being surrounded by a nephrocoele (opening in the coelomic lining), or Bowman'south space. The pronephric glomerulus is equanimous of prison cell types typical of kidneys of higher vertebrates, including fenestrated endothelial cells in capillary tufts, and podocytes with extensive foot processes (Ellis and Youson, 1989). Pronephric glomerulus evolution starts with the partitioning of cells from the intermediate mesoderm that volition serve as podocyte progenitors. Subsequently progenitors generate pes processes and begin to form the glomerular basement membrane. In the side by side stage, the podocytes interact with nearby aortic endothelial cells to form the glomerular tuft, and finally the supporting mesangial cells integrate into the glomerular architecture (Majumdar and Drummond, 1999).

The signals and the transcription factors that are responsible for the development of the pronephric glomerulus are only incompletely understood. Some evidence suggests that the pronephric tubule and the glomus are specified at the same time and are regulated by the same signals (Brennan et al., 1998), whereas other studies find that the glomus can develop after removal of the tubule and duct primordia, thus suggesting contained origins and signals for these structures (Vize et al., 1995). Lyons et al., (2009) showed that Wnt/b-catenin signaling is required for the germination of the glomus in the pronephros. Hyperactivation or inhibition of these signals caused inhibition of glomus creation as well as tubulogenesis in Xenopus. These results are in dissimilarity to the role of Wnt in the mesonephros or metanephros glomerulus (see below). Wesseley and colleagues have establish that a network of Wt1, FoxC2, and Notch signaling regulates podocyte differentiation in the Xenopus pronephros. Majumdar and Drummond (1999) studied an avascular zebrafish mutant, and showed that podocytes are able to differentiate properly in the absenteeism of endothelium or endothelial derived signals.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124059450000260

Book 1

Yunki Lee , ... YongTae Kim , in Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering, 2019

Kidney

The kidney is a vital organ that maintains hemeostasis in the trunk and controls blood pressue through blood filtration, waste matter excretion, and essential substance reabsorption. It also plays a master role in the elimination of toxins and their metabolites, therefore is susceptible to injury during the toxin removal procedure. The kidney tissue consists of an inner medulla, an outer cortex and millions of nephrons, the bones structural and functional unit of measurement of the kidney. The nephron is equanimous of two principal structures: the glomerulus that is responsible for renal ultrafiltration and the renal tubule for reabsorption of useful substances such as water, glucose, and amino acrid ( Fig. 8A ).

Fig. 8

Fig. 8. (A) Schematic analogy of nephron functional unit (left) and glomerular construction (correct) in kidney tissue. (B) In vitro glomerular model consisting of glomerular endothelial cells, podocytes and hydrogel membrane. This design mimics the glomerular filteration barrier.

Reproduced from Wang, Fifty., Tao, T., Su, W. et al. (2017). A affliction model of diabetic nephropathy in a glomerulus-on-a-bit microdevice. Lab on a Chip 17(10), 1749–1760, with permission from Majestic Society of Chemistry.

The glomerular filtration barrier consists of endothelial cells, podocytes, mesangial cells, and epithelial cells. The endothelial and epithelial monolayers share the extracellular matrix known every bit the glomerular basement membrane where these three distinctive layers form the glomerular filtration barrier. The filtration and excretion machinery include size, accuse, and shape selectivity at the glomerular barrier that has size-selective slit nanopores in foot processes and surface negative charge of glomerular endothelium. In contrast, the renal tubular reabsorption is the procedure where the removed water and solutes from the glomerular capillaries send into the blood circulatory arrangement to maintain homeostasis, which mostly occurs in the proximal tubule by osmotic pressure and active send of the tubular epithelial cells. Impairment of the renal filtration by disrupted epithelial jail cell junctions causes failure of homeostasis, leading to kidney diseases. Acute renal injury is caused by decreased claret flow to the kidneys or injury from drugs and viral infection. Chronic renal failure includes inflammation such as glomerulonephritis or pyelonephritis, polycystic kidney disease, renal fibrosis and kidney stone.

The kidney-on-a-chip platforms restate tissue- and organ-level physiology of the nephron functional unit of measurement, focusing on the renal tubule and capillary microenvironment of the kidney-specific functional unit of measurement on a chip. The state-of-art proximal tubule model is a multilayer microfluidic device system consisting of luminal flow channel and interstitial space compartmented by a porous membrane. The integration of relevant fluidic shear stress and transepithelial osmotic gradients increases the physiological relevance, demonstrating polarization and cytoskeletal reorganization of the renal tubular epithelial cells. This arroyo is enhanced to construct the kidney glomerulus besides as disease model. The diabetic nephropathy disease model of the glomerular endothelial barrier was estabilished in the compartmentalized microfluidic device consisting of tissue-specific cellular components and 3D extracellular matrix (Fig. viiiB). Nether fluid menstruation condition, 3D hydrogel membrane was lined by endothelial cells and podocytes, and served as the glomerular filtration barrier, showing selective permeability for large proteins. This device was also employed to verify high glucose-induced pathological responses where hyperglycermia proved to cause glomerular dysfunction with increased barrier permeability. In addition, to better restate in vivo microenvironment, with combining bioprinting technique, perfusable 3D human renal proximal tubule was created on a chip. This engineered 3D tubule model promoted tissue-like epithelium formation with enhanced epithelial morphology and functional properties, compared to the 2D arrangement.

Almost work leverages double-layered microfluidic compartmentalization to develop the renal tubular microenvironment of the nephron. More studies are at present focusing on mimicking a glomerular filtration bulwark construction and part, which volition contribute to the modeling of many renal diseases that are related to impaired activity of glomerulus. Glomerular dysfunction leads to the alteration of podocyte foot processes, which is responsible for inefficient blood ultrafiltration and ultimately proteinuria and other pathological diseases. Introduction of primary human being cells into this microengineered nephron functional unit would provide more realistic physiological and pathological in vitro models for studying drug therapeutic efficacy and toxicology to kidney tissues.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012801238364120X

Photoacoustic Probes for In Vivo Imaging

Penghui Cheng , Kanyi Pu , in Methods in Enzymology, 2021

2.1 Kidney injury and its clinical significance

Kidneys, as vital organs in the trunk that play important roles in regulating body fluid homeostasis and blood filtration, maintaining electrolyte residue, are vulnerable when exposed to drugs, imaging dissimilarity agents and environmental hazards, resulting in kidney injury in an acute or chronic style ( Choudhury & Ahmed, 2006). In particular, drug-induced kidney injury (DIKI) is a frequent complication in intensive care unit of measurement (ICU) with both high risk of morbidity and mortality (VA/NIH Acute Renal Failure Trial Network, 2008). Moreover, DIKI is a significant correspondent to acute kidney injury (AKI) and constitutes 19–25% of all cases in critically ill patients (Kellum & Prowle, 2018). Therefore, developing sensitive detection methods for DIKI is of swell importance for pharmaceutical companies to screen nephrotoxic drugs in drug evolution procedure, and for clinicians to closely monitor patient safe in clinical care.

Current clinical diagnosis of DIKI relies on measurement of serum creatinine (sCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), which are factors reflecting changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (Darmon et al., 2017). However, sCr/BUN methods fail to sensitively observe kidney injury because substantial histological injuries could occur before measurable GFR changes (Waikar & Bonventre, 2009). Furthermore, factors such equally patients' age and muscle mass tin can also cause fluctuations in the biomarker levels, hence affecting the accurateness of these tests (Baxmann et al., 2008). In contrast, urinalysis using biomarkers such as clusterin, Cystatin-C and β2-microglobulin has recently shown to be more sensitive and reliable than clinical diagnostic methods for detection of DIKI in animate being studies (Dieterle et al., 2010). Till date, the detection methods for these urinary biomarkers are restricted to commercial immunoassays and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS) that suffer from the following disadvantages. Commercial immunoassays generally endure from low sensitivity and deadening measurement procedures (Noto et al., 1983); while MALDI-TOF-MS is a highly specific method in biomarker detection, but its application has been limited by the number of reference MS spectra in the database (Duncan, Nedelkov, Walsh, & Hattan, 2016).

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0076687921002792

Microfluidics in Cell Biology Role A: Microfluidics for Multicellular Systems

Jeonghwan Lee , ... Sejoong Kim , in Methods in Cell Biology, 2018

3.1 Development of Glomerulus-on-a-Chip

The glomerulus is a major component of the nephron of the kidneys and plays an of import function in blood filtration, removing excessive h2o and waste product every bit a form of urine. Glomeruli are the major anatomical sites where many pathological mechanisms of kidney disease occur. An experimental model that reflects the construction and role of the glomeruli will be useful for the evolution of drugs and the study of the kidney disease pathological mechanism. The tubule-on-a-chip device has been developed and used for drug testing and disease modeling. However, the glomerulus-on-a-flake was relatively hard to devise as an in vitro microfluidic model due to the difficulty in culture of functional human podocyte and establishment of glomerulus filtration barrier. Most kidney diseases are caused by the pathology of the glomeruli, and most genetic and acquired glomerular diseases are from abnormalities in the podocyte or podocyte injury. Animate being models mimic a certain human disease merely do not ever replicate the phenotypes of human being podocyte injuries. In vitro cell civilisation experiments are usually used for supplemental data. Most popular podocyte cell lines are accomplished from provisional immortalization. Although they limited podocyte cell markers, such as nephrin and synaptopodin, their expression levels are limited. Master cultured podocytes from human kidneys are one of excellent sources for in vitro experiments. They contain most of podocyte-specific markers, but primary cells chop-chop lose their specific markers after outgrowth.

Under the physiological condition in the glomeruli, glomerular cells, including podocytes, are ordinarily exposed to shear stress. Using microfluidic technology, main human podocyte reinforces its specific prison cell markers. Some chemicals, including all-trans retinoic acid, helps podocyte differentiation. Yang and colleagues recently reported that fluid shear stress contributes to the differentiation of primary cultured homo podocytes (Yang et al., 2017). Investigators isolated human glomeruli from the surgically resected human being kidney due to renal jail cell carcinoma. Podocytes were harvested from the glomeruli and seeded in the microfluidic device. In the microfluidic condition, podocytes showed increased synaptopodin and ZO-1 expression with prominent spikes on the cell–cell interface. Interdigitating processes were only observed in the fluid shear stress and retinoic acid grouping. Consistent with these information, the mRNA expression levels of synaptopodin, podocin, WT-1, and ZO-ane were synergistically increased by fluid shear stress and retinoic acrid treatment (Yang et al., 2017). These 2 combinations may be a useful tool in mimicking podocyte differentiation and performing in vitro podocyte experiments. The researchers were able to successfully civilization the podocyte under microfluidic conditions just did not reproduce the glomerular filtration barrier.

Many researchers tried to mimic the glomerular filtration bulwark itself. Zhou and colleagues reproduced a glomerular filtration barrier by seeding and cultured immortalized mice podocytes (MPC-5) and mice glomerular endothelial cells (GEnCs) on the upper and lower sides of a porous polycarbonate membrane coated with basement membrane components including laminin, type IV collagen, entactin, and heparin sulfate proteoglycan (Zhou et al., 2016). The reproduced glomerular filtration bulwark showed decreased filtration permeability compared to the membrane barrier line only with podocytes or GEnC alone. The membrane filtration permeability of a centre-sized molecule such equally albumin was much lower than the permeability of low molecular substances such as insulin, which is similar to the characteristics of real kidney glomerular filtration barrier. Wang and colleagues designed a microfluidic glomerular filtration bulwark device using rat chief glomeruli (Wang et al., 2017). Master glomeruli were isolated from the renal cortexes of 4-week-old adult male Wistar Kyoto rats. The glomerular cells were attached and cultured on the microdevice layer with a crescent-shaped groove filled with Matrigel. The isolated primary glomeruli were seeded and captured in the Matrigel-filled gel layer for about 1–3   days, and then, on the 4th day, the glomerular microtissues adhered to the Matrigel and spread to form the glomerular filtration bulwark, which consisted of podocyte and GEnC layers under continuous menstruation status. Afterwards the formation of the glomerular filtration barrier, the permeability of immunoglobulin G decreased significantly compared with the control. The reconstituted glomerular filtration barrier showed physiologically relevant characteristics of the existent kidney glomerular filtration barrier against big poly peptide molecules. Nevertheless, their bulwark function withal lacks that of human podocytes.

Engineering skills were advanced very rapidly, but the greatest obstacles in the development of microfluidic organ-on-a-chip recapitulating microenvironments are sources of cells. Previously, podocytes could be obtained from amniotic fluid stalk cells, renal progenitors from urine, Bowman's capsule renal progenitor cells, and man iPSCs (hiPSCs) (Ciampi et al., 2016; Lasagni et al., 2010; Lazzeri et al., 2015; Xinaris et al., 2016). Ingber grouping demonstrated a fancy device using IPSCs (Musah et al., 2017). They direct differentiated hiPSC into podocyte in the fries, co-cultured with GEnCs, and recapitulated the glomerular barriers. The glomerulus-on-a-scrap consists of two PDMS parallel microchannels (one   ×   1   mm and 1   ×   0.two   mm) and a laminin 511-coated, porous flexible PDMS membrane (fifty   μm thick and 7   μm diameter pores) between them. hiPSCs were cultured on the membrane, and chief human GEnCs were cultured on the lower side of membrane to mimic the structural characteristics of human glomerular filtration barrier (podocyte-glomerular basement membrane-endothelial cells). Cyclic stretching (1   Hz) was applied to the porous flexible PDMS membrane to realize the mechanical pulse strain occurring in the actual glomeruli. They differentiated hiPSC to podocytes and identified the podocyte-specific markers (nephrin, WT1, podocin, Pax2) and the morphological characteristics of foot process germination. Under a microfluidic status, hiPSC-derived podocytes produced the glomerular basement membrane collagen and formed the connection construction with human GEnCs. This microstructure was like to the intercellular connection structure in the actual kidney glomerulus. They measured albumin and inulin clearances, which are key representatives of renal office. Generally, the kidney glomerular filtration barrier restricts the filtration of a large molecule such every bit albumin and freely filters small-sized molecules including diverse uremic toxins and insulin. Researchers found that most albumin (>   95%) did not laissez passer through the glomerular filtration bulwark and remained in the capillary channel, but most of the insulin (95%) was filtered through the glomerular filtration barrier. This is a result of selective permeability of the human kidney glomerular filtration barrier. They resolved the express homo kidney source problems and measurement of solute clearance. It may lead to the development of a new kidney disease model. This is the closest model that mimicked glomerular barriers, only much sophisticated processes of various chemicals are necessary. Therefore, they should evidence the benefit of these devices compared to the animal models or other previous simple glomerular chips.

Read full chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scientific discipline/commodity/pii/S0091679X18300645

Renal Illness in the Tropics

Raj Thuraisingham , Dwomoa Adu , in Manson's Tropical Infectious Diseases (Twenty-third Edition), 2014

Serum Creatinine Concentration

Serum or plasma creatinine determination is widely used, notwithstanding there is a non-linear relation betwixt the concentration of creatinine in the blood and GFR. This means that GFR must turn down to approximately half the normal level before the serum creatinine concentration rises in a higher place the upper limit of normal. Correspondingly, many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) maintain serum creatinine levels in the normal range, despite having significantly dumb renal office. Serum creatinine levels are dependent on dietary protein intake, total muscle mass and the use of medications such as cimetidine and trimethoprim, which interfere with renal creatinine treatment. Additionally, several substances tin interfere with the laboratory measurement of creatinine. Glucose, uric acid, ketones, plasma proteins and cephalosporins may pb to falsely high creatinine values when the Jaffe reaction method is used. The result of non-creatinine chromogens in serum is markedly reduced in the kinetic rate Jaffe reaction, which is used in many autoanalysers.

Read total chapter

URL:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780702051012000674