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Biomedical subjects

B Schmidt-Nielsen

Publications and source records attributed to B Schmidt-Nielsen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Anatomy and ultrastructure of the excretory system of the lizard, Sceloporus cyanogenys.

The anatomy and ultrastructure of the lizard kidney (Sceloporus cyanogenys) have been studied by light and electron microscopy. The number of glomeruli was counted in serial sections and estimated to be 2,000 (in the two kidneys). Beginning with the glomerulus and Bowman's capsule the nephron segments are sequentially: (a) proximal tubule; (b) intermediate ciliated segment consisting of a proximal and distal part; (c) distal tubule, which can be divided into two segments, followed by (d) connecting tubule and (e) initial collecting duct. The initial collecting ducts from several nephrons open into the collecting duct. Tubular epithelium in this lizard has similarities to that of other reptiles. The lateral borders do not overlap like in mammals, but interdigitate by fingerlike projections. The length of the nephron segments was measured in disected tubules and the diameter was measured on light and electron micrographs. From these measurements estimates of inner tubular surface area were made. Together with data from physiological studies (Stolte et al., '76; Schmidt-Nielsen, '76) the estimated surface area was used to calculate transport rates per unit area across the epithelium. Comparisons of structure and transport rates per unit area across the epithelium. Comparisons of structure and transport rates were made between S. cyanogenys and other reptiles and mammals.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Intracellular concentrations of the salt gland of the herring gull Larus argentatus.

Attempts were made to measure intra- and extracellular concentrations in secreting and inactive salt gland tissue of the herring gull. 14C-labeled polyethylene glycol (mol wt 4,000) was used as a marker for extracellular fluid. Fluid separated by centrifugation at 36,000 g appeared by three independent criteria to represent primarily extracellular fluid. It could not, however, be fully ascertained if this fluid was mixed with a small amount of intracellular fluid. Therefore, intracellular concentrations were calculated from the concentrations in centrifuged fluid as well as from plasma concentrations. By either method it was found that secreting and inactive glands showed no difference in extracellular and intracellular fluid concentrations of Na, K, Cl and Ca. Secreting glands had lower intracellular water content and a higher intracellular Mg concentration than inactive glands. The absence of evidence for intracellular accumulation of Na and Cl ions in secreting glands suggests that active ion transport takes place across the apical rather than the basal and lateral membranes in spite of the fact that Na-K-activated ATPase is associated with the extensive infoldings of these plasma membranes.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Polyamine synthesis in liver and kidney of flounder in response to methylmercury.

The effect of methylmercury administration on polyamine synthesis was studied in the liver and kidney of the winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). A single injection of methylmercury resulted in five- and sevenfold elevations of ornithine decarboxylase activity in the liver and kidney within 15 and 45 h, respectively. There were elevations of both putrescine- and spermidine-stimulated S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activities (approximately 1.5-fold) in both tissues. Evaluation of the polyamine accumulation patterns in these tissues indicated that in the liver all three polyamines increased in concentration until 48 h and then decline. In the kidney, the concentration of putrescine increased steadily until it was 200% of control at 72 h and then declined. Spermidine concentration decreased throughout the time studied and was 17% of control at 1 wk. There was no significant change in the concentration of spermine throughout the period studied. The changes in the polyamine pools and in the activities of the polyamine biosynthetic enzymes after methylmercury administration are consistent with an involvement of the polyamines in the recovery phase to a toxic dose of methylmercury.

Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase↗
PubMed1975

Comparative physiology of cellular ion and volume regulation.

1. Intracellular [K+]i in most cells is around 100-150 mOs. This is true in invertebrate or vertebrate muscle or any other tissue, and the only known exceptions being the axons of some invertebrates (Burton, '73). 2. When cell volume is increased due to hypoosmotic swelling, cell volume is regulated back toward normal in almost all cells. In cells with an osmolality of 300-350 mOs, the regulatory volume decrease is caused primarily by a passive efflux of potassium and anions due to increased membrane permeability to potassium. In cells with a higher osmolality, regulatory volume decrease is caused by the passive efflux of small organic molecules. 3. When cell volume is decreased due to hyperosmotic shrinking, volume is not always regulated back toward normal in in vitro experiments carried out for several hours. However, it appears from the in vivo experiments that some cell volume control is always present. The volume control in the flounder red cells took place through increased sodium influx brought about by a relative increase in cell membrane permeability to sodium. This mechanism also appears to be dominant in the mammalian renal papilla, where the [Na+]i increases in proportion to the increase in cellular osmolality with no change in [K+]i. 4. Cells which remain shrunken in vitro, or cells which only partly restore their volume in vivo, do not exhibit increased [K+]i. This finding means that potassium is lost from the cell and, in most cases, exchanged for sodium when the volume is decreased, even though the osmotic concentration in the extracellular fluid is elevated. 5. Finally, it appears that the maintenance of a rather constant [K+]i is important for all cells. This constancy may be due to the fact that certain enzymes are sensitive to the intracellular potassium concentration. Thus, the DNA synthesis is blocked in mammalian kidney cells when [K+]i is increased (Bygrave, '67). Furthermore, Lubin ('64) has shown that low [K+]i concentrations also cause a decrease in DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis. An optimal concentration appears to be necessary for protein synthesis.

Amoeba↗
PubMed1975

Kidney function of the American eel Anguilla rostrata.

Urine formation in the eel, acclimated to freshwater (FW) and seawater (SW) was studied. SW eels maintained higher plasma and urine osmotic and ionic concentrations than FW eels. Polyethylene-1,2-glycol-14C (PEG-14C) clearance was 29% greater than methoxy-inulin-3H clearance. PEG-14C clearance was considered to be the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR of SW and FW eels did not differ. Urine flow rate in SW eels was one-third of that in FW eels. The primary urinary solutes in both groups were Na and Cl. Apparently, tubular fluid secretion occurred in FW and, to a lesser degree, in SW eels. With the assumption that water reabsorption was secondary to Na reabsorption in the kidney, the clearance data were used to evaluate all possible explanations for what appeared to be fluid secretion. The data were inconsistent with the possibility that GFR had been underestimated due to glomerular sieving of PEG or active or passive reabsorption of the marker, but consistent with tubular fluid secretion. Furosemide caused diuresis in both groups of eels apparently by inhibition of Na reabsorption in the distal tubule, but it had no effect on the apparent tubular fluid secretion. Tubular ion secretion could not be conclusively implicated as a driving force for fluid secretion. However, the possibility of K, Ca, or Mg secretion in a proximal segment followed by reabsorption in a more distal part of the nephron was not ruled out.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1970

Fluid transport: concentration of the intercellular compartment.

Intercellular spaces of Periplaneta rectal pads are visible at a magnification of x 100 and distend during fluid uptake. Samples (0.025 to 0.1 nanoliter) obtained by micropuncture from the spaces were consistently more concentrated than the fluid in the rectal lumen. This observation supports the hypothesis of "local" osmosis in epithelial fluid transport.

Animals↗
PubMed1968

Fluid transport and tubular intercellular spaces in reptilian kidneys.

Renal tubules of crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and turtles have intercellular spaces similar in type to those observed in the mammalian gall bladder, but different from those of mammalian renal tubules. The fluid movements across renal tubules of reptiles are correlated with the width of the tubular intercellular spaces. In the proximal tubules, where transport is always isosmotic, the spaces are open whenever the tubular epithelium is tranporting, but closed when no transport is taking place. In distal tubules, intercellular spaces are wide open when the osmolality of the urine is close to that of the blood, that is, when the fluid resorbed is almost isosmotic to the tubular fluid. The apical two-thirds of the intercellular spaces are closed when the urine is hypoosmotic. They are also closed when the tubules are not transporting, as in collapsed tubules or tubules poisoned with ouabain. Thus, as in the gall bladder, the open intercellular spaces appear to be found whenever there is fluid transport across the epithelium.

Animals↗