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Structure-function correlations in erythropoietin formation and oxygen sensing in the kidney

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Summary

The kidney is the main site of erythropoietin (EPO) formation. Oxygen sensing in the kidney itself plays a major role in the control of EPO synthesis. By in situ hybridization it has been established that the EPO-producing cells are situated in the interstitium of the cortical labyrinth, but they have not been precisely identified. Morphological findings provide new insights into the location and mechanism of oxygen sensing in the kidney. In addition to causing an increase in the number of cells containing EPO messenger RNA, anemia provokes structural changes exclusively in the cortical labyrinth. Specifically, the fibroblasts become enlarged and show increased activity of 5′-nucleotidase, and the S1 segment of the proximal tubule shows similar alterations as in various models of hypoxia. Thus, structures that are situated in the close vicinity of the EPO-producing cells appear to be sensitive to decreased oxygen delivery.

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Abbreviations

EPO:

erythropoietin

MHC II:

major histocompatibility class II antigen

PAS:

Period-acid-Schiff reaction

S1:

first segment of proximal tubule

S2:

second segment of proximal tubule

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kantonsspital Basel, Medizinische Universitätspoliklinik, Schweiz

    M. Le Hir

  2. Institut für Physiologie, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Schweiz

    K. -U. Eckardt & A. Kurtz

  3. Institut für Anatomie, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Schweiz

    B. Kaissling

  4. Department of Medicine, Hematology Division, Nashville, Tennessee

    S. T. Koury

  5. Institut für Physiologie I, Universität Regensburg, Deutschland

    K. -U. Eckardt & A. Kurtz

Authors
  1. M. Le Hir
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  2. K. -U. Eckardt
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  3. B. Kaissling
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  4. S. T. Koury
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  5. A. Kurtz
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Additional information

Preprint of a lecture to be read at the 22nd Congress of the “Gesellschaft für Nephrologie”, Heidelberg, September 15–18, 1991 (Editor: Prof. Dr. E. Ritz, Heidelberg)

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Le Hir, M., Eckardt, K.U., Kaissling, B. et al. Structure-function correlations in erythropoietin formation and oxygen sensing in the kidney. Klin Wochenschr 69, 567–575 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01649319

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01649319

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