No abstract available.
Aquaporins* ; Kidney* ; Physiology*

The function of kidney is maintaining water balance of our body through regulation of urine concentration and dilution. The aquaporins are molecular basis of renal urine production and water transport, and their expression and membrane translocation are regulated delicately. Nuclear receptors are a superfamily of ligand-activated transcription factors consisting of 48 members in human. They widely participate in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological regulation including growth and development, glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation, immunology by regulating target gene transcription and expression. Increasing evidence demonstrates that these receptors are involved in the regulation of aquaporins expression and membrane translocation in kidney, thereby playing a major role in water homeostasis. Here we review the role of nuclear receptors in regulating renal water transport.
Aquaporins ; physiology ; Biological Transport ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Kidney ; physiology ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; physiology ; Water

K(+) channels form a large family of membrane proteins that are expressed in a polarized fashion in any epithelial cell. Based on the transmembrane gradient for K(+) that is maintained by the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, these channels serve two principal functions for transepithelial transport: generation of membrane voltage and recycling of K(+). In this brief review, we will outline the importance of this ancient principle by examples of epithelial transport in the renal proximal tubule and gastric parietal cells. In both tissues, K(+) channel activity is rate-limiting for transport processes across the epithelial cells and essential for cell volume regulation. Recent experimental data using pharmacological tools and genetically modified animals have confirmed the original physiological concepts and specified the knowledge down to the molecular level. The development of highly active and tissue selective small molecule therapeutics has been impeded by two typical features of K(+) channels: their molecular architecture challenges the design of molecules with high affinity binding and they are expressed in a variety of tissues at the same time. Nevertheless, new insights into pathophysiology, e.g. that K(+) channel inhibition can block gastric acid secretion, render the clinical use of K(+) channel drugs in gastric disease and as kidney transport inhibitors highly attractive.
Animals ; Biological Transport ; Epithelial Cells ; physiology ; Kidney ; physiology ; Potassium ; Potassium Channels ; physiology ; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase ; physiology

Aging ; genetics ; physiology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; physiology ; Kidney ; physiology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neuroimmunomodulation ; physiology ; Pituitary-Adrenal System ; physiology ; Thymus Gland ; physiology ; Yang Deficiency ; physiopathology

With the technological advances of mass spectrometry (MS)-based platforms, clinical proteomics is one of the most rapidly growing areas in biomedical research. Urine proteomics has become a popular subdiscipline of clinical proteomics because it is an ideal source for the discovery of noninvasive disease biomarkers. The urine proteome offers a comprehensive view of the local and systemic physiology since the proteome is primarily composed of proteins/peptides from the kidneys and plasma. The emergence of MS-based proteomic platforms as prominent bioanalytical tools in clinical applications has enhanced the identification of protein-based urinary biomarkers. This review highlights the characteristics of urine that make it an attractive biofluid for biomarker discovery and the impact of MS-based technologies on the clinical assessment of urinary protein biomarkers.
Biomarkers ; Kidney ; Mass Spectrometry* ; Physiology ; Plasma ; Proteome ; Proteomics*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Kidney/physiology ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*diagnosis/*therapy ; Nephrology/methods/trends ; Periodicals as Topic

Klotho is highly expressed in the kidney, while soluble Klotho is detectable in the blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid, and has multiple hormone-like functions. The role of Klotho in kidney injury has attracted more and more attentions from researchers. Emerging evidence revealed that the transient deficiency of Klotho is an early event of acute kidney injury (AKI), whereas, in chronic kidney disease, this deficiency is sustained not only in the kidney, but also in other organ systems. Therefore, Klotho could be a potential biomarker for early diagnosis of AKI, as well as for its progression to chronic kidney disease. Moreover, Klotho might have therapeutic value to renal injury. Nevertheless, there are only few studies on the involvement of Klotho in post AKI repair. This review focused on the role of Klotho in not only kidney injury, but also its repair, in particular the relationship between Klotho and cell fate (autophagy/apoptosis/necrosis), repair/regeneration, Wnt/β-catenin and erythropoietin receptor, one of the Klotho effectors.
Acute Kidney Injury ; metabolism ; Biomarkers ; Disease Progression ; Glucuronidase ; physiology ; Humans ; Kidney ; metabolism ; pathology ; Signal Transduction

Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is a critical angiogenic factor which is mainly secreted from podocytes and epithelial cells in kidney and plays an important role in renal pathophysiology. In recent years, functions of different isoforms of VEGF-A and the new secretion approach via extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified. Thus, further understanding are needed for the role of VEGF-A and its isoforms in renal injury and repair. In this review, we summarized the expression, secretion and regulation of VEGF-A, its biological function, and the role of different isoforms of VEGF-A in the development of different renal diseases. Meanwhile, the research progress of VEGF-A as diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for renal diseases were discussed.
Humans ; Kidney/metabolism* ; Kidney Diseases ; Protein Isoforms/metabolism* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/physiology*

Nephronectin (NPNT) is a novel extracellular matrix protein and a new ligand of integrin α8β1. Recent studies showed that NPNT is highly expressed in kidney, lung, thyroid, etc, and it may play an important role in many pathological conditions. NPNT is involved in the process of kidney development and acute kidney injury, regulates proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast, and induces the vasculogenesis in vitro. NPNT may play a key role in pathological osteoporosis and therefore be a new therapeutic target of bone diseases. NPNT gene variants are not only associated with lung function, but also potentially implicated in chronic airway diseases development. Moreover, NPNT is also an important factor that mediates pathology of cardiac, epidermis, breast, liver and teeth diseases. In this paper, we reviewed some research progresses on the structure, distribution, physiological and pathophysiological functions of NPNT.
Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; physiology ; Humans ; Kidney ; physiology ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; Osteoporosis

Urea transporters (UTs) are transmembrane urea-selective channel proteins that include two UT subfamilies, UT-A and UT-B. UT-A subfamily includes six members, UT-A1 to UT-A6, which are mainly expressed in kidney. UT-B subfamily has only one member that has a wide distribution in the body. UTs have been confirmed to play important roles in urinary concentration via the phenotypic analysis of 6 UT selective knockout mouse models. Experimental results suggest that UTs might be diuretic targets and that UT inhibitors might be developed as novel diuretics. This article reviews the physiological function and drug discovery of UT.
Animals ; Diuretics ; Kidney ; physiology ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; physiology ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Urea