American scientists have found that kidney epithelial cells act as mechanical fluid pumps.
- “This finding shows that our device can be used as a screening tool for new treatments for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and other kidney diseases,” the researchers said.
The kidneys are a complex network of tubes that process about 190 liters of blood per day, according to researchers at Johns-Hopkins University in the United States. These tubes are lined with epithelial cells that carry blood to the kidneys and circulate it around the body. “Physical laws say it takes forces to move things. In this case, the cells are not moving, but they are moving liquid. So the question is how do they do that?”said Sean Sun, a professor in the mechanical engineering department at the Whiting School of Engineering, in a statement.
“Kidney cells are pumps”
In order to unlock the secrets of this blood transport process, scientists have realized a study published in the journal NatureCommunications. To carry out the work, they recreated the microenvironment of the kidneys using their microfluidic kidney pump. This device has two microchannels separated by renal epithelial cells. As the cells pass fluid between the channels, the device records the fluid pressure generated by the cells in real time.
According to the authors, renal epithelial cells behave like mechanical fluid pumps and actively generate a fluid pressure gradient. “Everyone hears that the kidneys filter the blood, but that’s not the case conceptually. What we have shown is that kidney cells are pumps, not filters, and ‘they themselves generate the necessary pressure’ to move blood, explained Sean Sun. According to scientists, for healthy kidney cells, fluid flow is from the top (apical) to the base (basal) of the organ.
Kidney disease alters pumping
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Maryland, the team also looked at how the kidneys actually work when a patient has autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, a genetic condition that causes kidney enlargement. The group found that diseased kidney cells pumped fluid in the opposite direction to healthy epithelial cells. This caused the pressure in the kidney tubes to change, leading to changes in their shape and function.
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