title: A trail of research on potassium.
abstract: A complex pump-leak system involving both active and passive transport mechanisms is responsible for the appropriate distribution of potassium (K) between the intra- and extracellular fluid compartments. In addition, the kidneys, and to a lesser extent the colon, safeguard maintenance of the narrow range of low K concentrations in the extracellular fluid. Early renal clearance studies showed that K is normally both reabsorbed and secreted by renal tubules, and that regulated secretion is the major source of K excretion. Studies at the tubule and cell level have localized secretion and reabsorption of K to principal and intercalated cells in the collecting ducts. Measurements of the electrochemical driving forces across individual cell membranes have permitted the characterization of specific ATPases, K channels and K cotransporters and also provided insights into the molecular structure of individual transporters that regulate K excretion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. Gerhard.giebisch@yale.edu
authors.forename: Gerhard H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Giebisch
mesh_terms: D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015221:Potassium Channels; D011188:Potassium