English Journal

Gender differences in kidney function.

Sabolić I, Asif AR, Budach WE, Wanke C, Bahn A, Burckhardt G.Author information Molecular Toxicology, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia. sabolic@imi.hrAbstractSex hormones influence the development of female (F) and male (M) specific traits and primarily affect the structure and function of gender-specific organs. Recent studies also indicated their important roles in regulating structure and/or function of nearly every tissue and organ in the mammalian body, including the kidneys, causing gender differences in a variety of characteristics. Clinical observations in humans and studies in experimental animals in vivo and in models in vitro have shown that renal structure and functions under various physiological, pharmacological, and toxicological conditions are different in M and F, and that these differences may be related to the sex-hormone-regulated expression and action of transporters in the apical and basolateral membrane of nephron epithelial cells. In this review we have collected published data on gender differences in renal functions, transporters and other related parameters, and present our own microarray data on messenger RNA expression for various transporters in the kidney cortex of M and F rats. With these data we would like to emphasize the importance of sex hormones in regulation of a variety of renal transport functions and to initiate further studies of gender-related differences in kidney structure and functions, which would enable us to better understand occurrence and development of various renal diseases, pharmacotherapy, and drug-induced nephrotoxicity in humans and animals.
Pflügers Archiv : European journal of physiology.Pflugers Arch.2007 Dec;455(3):397-429. Epub 2007 Jul 19.
Sex hormones influence the development of female (F) and male (M) specific traits and primarily affect the structure and function of gender-specific organs. Recent studies also indicated their important roles in regulating structure and/or function of nearly every tissue and organ in the mammalian b
PMID 17638010

Demonstration of functional dipeptide transport with expression of PEPT2 in guinea pig cardiomyocytes.

Lin H, King N.Author information Bristol Heart Institute, University of Bristol, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol BS2 8HW, UK.AbstractThe transporters PEPT1 and PEPT2 accept a broad spectrum of substrates including small, naturally occurring peptides and peptidomimetic drugs. This study aimed to investigate for the first time whether these transporters are expressed and active in isolated cardiomyocytes. PEPT1/PEPT2 expression in rat kidney (positive control), guinea pig kidney and cardiomyocytes were investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. L-Glycyl-L-[(14)C]sarcosine (Gly-sar) uptake was characterised using freshly isolated suspensions of adult male guinea pig cardiomyocytes. PEPT2-specific primers recognised mRNA of appropriate size and sequence in cardiomyocytes and kidney, whilst PEPT1 was expressed in the kidney only. The initial uptake (30 s) of 200 microM Gly-sar was dependent on extracellular pH with a maximum at pH 6.0 (237.8 +/- 12.2 pmol/microl) and a minimum at pH 8.0 (72.1 +/- 13.4 pmol/microl, n = 6 +/- SE, p < 0.01, T test). The K (m) and V (max) of Gly-sar uptake at pH 6.0 were 495.5 +/- 69.6 microM and 1470.5 +/- 69.6 pmol microl(-1) min(-1). The addition of 10 mM fosinopril, cefadroxil, carnosine, cyclacillin or a variety of L-amino acid containing dipeptides/tripeptides significantly reduced Gly-sar uptake. Gly-sar uptake was not affected by 10 mM D-ala-D-ala, glycine or sarcosine. These results support the presence of a functional dipeptide transporter in isolated cardiomyocytes, with accompanying expression of PEPT2.
Pflügers Archiv : European journal of physiology.Pflugers Arch.2007 Mar;453(6):915-22. Epub 2006 Nov 21.
The transporters PEPT1 and PEPT2 accept a broad spectrum of substrates including small, naturally occurring peptides and peptidomimetic drugs. This study aimed to investigate for the first time whether these transporters are expressed and active in isolated cardiomyocytes. PEPT1/PEPT2 expression in
PMID 17120020