Hypertonic stress in the kidney: a necessary evil.
The interstitium of the renal medulla is hypertonic, imposing deleterious effects on local cells. At the same time, the hypertonicity provides osmotic gradient for water reabsorption and is a local signal for tissue-specific gene expression and differentiation of the renal medulla, which is a critical organ for water homeostasis.
Kwon
Min Seong
MS
Department of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA. mkwon@medicine.umaryland.edu
Lim
Sun Woo
SW
Kwon
H Moo
HM
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance / Q000502:physiology*