Browsing by Subject "Human kidney"

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    Expression of cannabinoid receptors in human kidney
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2010) Larrinaga, Gorka; Varona, Adolfo; Pérez, Itxaro; Sanz, Begoña; Ugalde, Aitziber
    The presence of CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors and their physiological role in the kidney has been described in animal models but not in humans. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the presence of these receptors in human kidney, adult and fetal. For this purpose, RT-PCR, western-blot and immunohistochemical assays were performed. RT-PCR confirmed the presence of CB1 receptor mRNA receptor and the absence of the CB2 receptor mRNA in adult and fetal kidney. Western-blot and immunohistochemical assays revealed the presence of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor protein, which displayed a similar distribution in fetal and adult kidneys. Proximal and distal convoluted tubule cells and intercalated cells in the collecting ducts showed marked positivity. Conversely, the CB2 cannabinoid receptor protein was consistently negative in all cases. Our data suggest a possible implication of the endocannabinoid system in the physiology and development of the human kidney.
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    Localization of the polyol pathway in the human kidney
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2009) Zopf, Steffen; Flämig, Jakob; Schmid, Heide; Miosge, Nicolai; Blaschke, Sabine; Hahn, Eckhart G.; Múller, Gerhard Anton; Grunewald, Rolf W.
    Sorbitol plays an important role in the osmotic regulation of the mammalian kidney. Sorbitol synthesis is regulated by the enzyme aldose reductase (AR) and its degradation to fructose is catalyzed by the enzyme sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH). Various data exist on the polyol pathway on the rat kidney, but little is known about the distribution of the polyol pathway enzymes in the human kidney. Determination of enzyme activities and a semiquantitative determination of mRNA expression, immunohistochemistry and in-situ hybridisation in healthy human kidney tissue was carried out. The enzyme activity of AR showed a fourfold increase from cortex to papilla, while SDH-activity dropped from cortex to papilla by a factor of four. Corresponding data was obtained at the mRNA level from the semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Additional differentiation at the cellular level reveals both enzymes in cells of the proximal and distal tubules, thick ascending loop, thin loop and collecting duct. Studies of enzyme activity and expression by immunohistochemistry, PCR and in-situ hybridization presented corresponding results with respect to the localization of the enzymes, which match the experimental data obtained from rats very well. Thus, the established rat model might well represent the situation in the human kidney, too.
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    Metaplasia of the parietal layer of Bowman's capsule in the human kidney. Incidence in alcoholic liver disease and hypertension
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 1988) Haensly, William E.
    This report is the second of two surveys to determine the incidence of metaplasia of Bowman's parietal epithelium in the human kidney. Human kidney sections obtained at autopsy at the Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, were examined with the light microscope. The kidneys were fixed in neutral formalin, sectioned at 6 pm and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Autopsy records were consulted after kidney section examination to determine if there was any correlation between clinical disease, histopathological changes in organ systems and metaplasia of Bowman's capsule. The kidney sections represented both sexes in 8 age groups, from less than one year to 80 years. A total of 174 kidneys, representing 174 individuals, were evaluated. One hundred renal corpuscles were counted per section and the parietal layer of Bowman's capsule was classified as normal (squamous) or metaplastic (cuboidal). Of the 174 kidneys examined, 137 (79% )- 79 male and 58 female - had metaplasia of Bowman's capsule. On the average, in the kidneys with the lesion, 6% of the renal corpuscles had metaplasia of Bowman's parietal layer. The lesion was present in both sexes in all age groups. The autopsy records revealed that metaplasia of Bowman's parietal epithelium was usually present with hepatic fatty changes andlor congestion. Alcoholic liver disease and hypertension represented the most frequent clinical diseases in the sample; these conditions had the highest incidence of metaplasia. Twenty-six of the 174 kidney samples were from individuals with alcoholic liver disease, all of whom had metaplasia of Bowman's capsule. In the latter kidneys the mean percentage of glomerular capsules with metaplasia was 14%, with a range of l to 46%. Thirtyeight of the 174 kidney samples were from individuals with hypertension, 29 (76% ) of whom had metaplasia of Bowman's capsule. In these kidneys the mean percentage of glomerular capsules with metaplasia was 6% with a range of 1 to 16%. These observations suggest that metaplasia of Bowman's parietal epithelium is a common occurrence in the human kidney under different pathological conditions, and is especially prominent in alcoholic liver disease and hypertension.