Kidney can clean its own filters
Published: Jan. 31, 2008 at 11:47 PM
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said that breakdown of a kidney's self-cleaning feature can make kidneys more vulnerable to dysfunction and disease.
Dr. Andrey Shaw of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said despite extensive knowledge of the structure of the kidney, several scientific controversies linger over how the organ does its complicated and essential job of filtering wastes from the blood for disposal.
Like many mechanical filtering systems, the kidney passes the blood through a series of progressively finer screens.
"The kidney screens 150 to 200 liters of blood daily, and we were curious as to how the kidney keeps the filter from clogging up," first author Shreeram Akilesh said in a statement. "The two most common blood serum and plasma proteins are albumin, which helps regulate blood volume and convey a number of different substances around the body, and immunoglobin G (IgG), a type of immune system antibody."
The researchers found the filter system in the kidney isn't just a passive mechanical filter, it's involved in its own maintenance. This mechanism helps explain how the normal function of this filter can break down in ways that leads to kidney disease, Akilesh said.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Andrey Shaw of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said despite extensive knowledge of the structure of the kidney, several scientific controversies linger over how the organ does its complicated and essential job of filtering wastes from the blood for disposal.
Like many mechanical filtering systems, the kidney passes the blood through a series of progressively finer screens.
"The kidney screens 150 to 200 liters of blood daily, and we were curious as to how the kidney keeps the filter from clogging up," first author Shreeram Akilesh said in a statement. "The two most common blood serum and plasma proteins are albumin, which helps regulate blood volume and convey a number of different substances around the body, and immunoglobin G (IgG), a type of immune system antibody."
The researchers found the filter system in the kidney isn't just a passive mechanical filter, it's involved in its own maintenance. This mechanism helps explain how the normal function of this filter can break down in ways that leads to kidney disease, Akilesh said.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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