The tight junctions of renal tubules in the cortex and outer medulla. A quantitative study of the kidneys of six species

Abstract

Quantitative aspects of tight junction morphology were systematically studied in the cortical and outer medullary segments of the distal urinary tubules of rat, hamster, rabbit, cat, dog and the primitive primate Tupaia belangeri. Only minor differences in junctional architecture were found between straight and convoluted portions of the distal tubule. In contrast, the collecting duct in cortex and outer medulla, in all species, exhibits the most elaborate tight junctions observed along the uriniferous tubule. The present and previous findings from this laboratory indicate that increasing "tightness" of the junctional complexes is apparent along the course of the nephron in all species studied. The proposed relationship between quantitative aspects of the zonula occludens and presently available values for transepithelial electrical resistance was re-examined for the renal tubules. It was found that for the mammalian kidney a satisfactory correlation exists between the tight junction morphology and presently known functional parameters. This relationship is the more evident the more additional dimensional characteristics of the intercellular clefts are taken into consideration. It may therefore be concluded that, at least for the mammalian kidney, the assumption of differences in the molecular organization of the tight junctions is not needed to explain so far unresolved discrepancies between tubular morphology and function.