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Heterogeneity of tight junctions along the collecting duct in the renal medulla

A freeze-fracture study in rat and rabbit

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Summary

The tight junctions along the medullary collecting duct in the kidneys of the rat and the rabbit were studied with freeze-fracture electron microscopy and quantitated according to the number of strands and the apico-basal depth (nm) of the junctions.

The most elaborate tight junctions were found in the inner stripe of the outer medulla; rat: 10.6±0.8 strands and 205±24nm; rabbit: 11.6±2.4 strands and 291±55 nm.

The elaboration of the tight junctions decreased continuously towards the papillary tip. Inner zone I; rat: 9.3±2.6 strands and 186±38nm, rabbit: 9.5±2.3 strands and 247±59nm. Inner zone II; rat: 7.1±2.2 strands and 129±32nm, rabbit: 8.5±1.4 strands and 199±26nm. Inner zone III; rat: 6.0±1.6 strands and 111 + 19 nm, rabbit: 7.0±1.5 strands and 183±43 nm. In the inner zone III comprising the papillary tip tight junctions with only 1–3 strands were not infrequently seen. Preliminary findings in the kidney of the golden hamster indicate a similar decline of junctional tightness along the collecting duct.

These morphological observations suggest that the permeability of the paracellular pathway of the medullary collecting duct increases towards the tip of the papilla, especially in the rat. The functional implications for the medullary recycling of urea and electrolytes, and for the urinary concentrating mechanism are discussed.

In addition, the tight junctions of the papillary epithelium are described.

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  1. Institute of Physiology I, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany

    A. Schiller &  R. Taugner

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  1. A. Schiller
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  2. R. Taugner
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Schiller, A., Taugner, R. Heterogeneity of tight junctions along the collecting duct in the renal medulla. Cell Tissue Res. 223, 603–614 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218480

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