title: Dynamic alterations of glomerular charge density in fixed rat kidneys suggest involvement of endothelial cell coat.
abstract: In a previous paper, we found that low ionic strength (I) reversibly reduced the glomerular charge density, suggesting increased volume of the charge-selective barrier. Because glutaraldehyde makes most structures rigid, we considered the isolated, perfusion-fixed rat kidney to be an ideal model for further analysis. The fixed kidneys were perfused with albumin solutions containing FITC-Ficoll at two different Is (I = 151 and 34 mM). At normal I, the fractional clearance () for albumin was 0.0049 (SE -0.0017, +0.0027, n = 6), whereas for neutral Ficoll35.5A of similar size was significantly higher 0.104 (SE 0.010, n = 5, P < 0.001). At low I, for albumin was 0.0030 (SE -0.0011, +0.0018, n = 6, not significant from albumin at normal I) and for Ficoll35.5A was identical to that at normal I, 0.104 (SE 0.015, n = 6, P < 0.01 compared with albumin at low I). According to a heterogeneous charged fiber model, low I reduced the fiber density from 0.056 to 0.0315, suggesting a 78% gel volume expansion. We conclude that 1) there is a significant glomerular charge barrier. 2) Solutions with low I increase the volume of the charge barrier even in kidneys fixed with glutaraldehyde. Our findings suggest that polysaccharide-rich structures, such as the endothelial cell coat, are key components in the glomerular barrier.
authors.affiliation: Hannover Medical School, Germany.
authors.forename: Giuliano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciarimboli
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hjalmarsson
authors.forename: Arend
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bökenkamp
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Schurek
authors.forename: Börje
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haraldsson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004727:Endothelium / Q000502:physiology; D005404:Fixatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D005976:Glutaral / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D005404:Fixatives; D005976:Glutaral