Urine Formation by the Malpighian Tubules of Calliphora

1968 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-174
Author(s):  
M. J. BERRIDGE
Keyword(s):  
Osmotic Pressure ◽  
Potassium Concentration ◽  
Malpighian Tubules ◽  
Apical Surface ◽  
Bathing Medium ◽  
Sodium Potassium ◽  
Basal Plasma ◽  
External Potassium ◽  
Potassium Secretion ◽  
Urine Formation

1. Rate of urine formation is very sensitive to potassium concentration. 2. Potassium is concentrated in the urine by a mechanism which is independent of other monovalent cations. Rubidium, caesium and sodium are also capable of maintaining a flow of urine. At low external potassium concentrations, sodium stimulates potassium secretion. 3. Rate of urine secretion is stimulated by low osmotic pressures; the osmotic pressure of urine was slightly hypertonic throughout the range of external osmotic pressure employed. Addition of sucrose depresses rate of urine secretion; the potassium concentration of the urine increased by 1 mM/l. for each 2 mM/l. of sucrose added to the bathing medium. 4. Urine formation is insensitive to sulphanilamide, acetazolamide, ouabain and a wide variation of pH. 5. These observations are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that potassium secretion takes place across both surfaces of the cell. The pump on the basal surface may be a coupled sodium-potassium pump, whereas that on the apical surface may be electrogenic. 6. Microvilli at the apical surface or channels formed by a complex infolding of the basal plasma membrane may represent structural devices by which standing osmotic gradients can be established during solute-linked water transport across the cells of Malpighian tubules.

Studies on the mechanism of fluid secretion by isolated salivary glands of Calliphora

1976 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-322
Author(s):  
M. J. Berridge ◽  
B. D. Lindley ◽  
W. T. Prince
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Glands ◽  
Apical Membrane ◽  
Potassium Concentration ◽  
Basal Membrane ◽  
Fluid Secretion ◽  
Sodium Permeability ◽  
Bathing Medium ◽  
Major Cation ◽  
Diuretic Agent ◽  
External Potassium

1. Potassium is the major cation in the secretion of the salivary glands of Calliphora and is necessary for full secretory rates. 2. Other ions (rubidium and sodium) can support secretion in the absence of potassium. 39. During stimulation with 5-HT a Nernst plot of the basal membrane potential has a slope of 53 mV for a tenfold change in external potassium concentration and the slope at rest deviates from this over the range I-20 mM external potassium. 4. Hyperpolarization of the basal membrane by 5-HT is abolished if the chloride in the bathing medium is replaced by isethionate. 5. The diuretic agent amiloride inhibits fluid secretion by a mechanism which may include a reduction in calcium entry in addition to its recognized effect on sodium permeability. 6. A model is proposed in which fluid secretion is driven by the active transport of potassium across the apical membrane with chloride following passively.

The Physiology of Excretion in the Cotton Stainer, Dysdercus Fasciatus, Signoret

1966 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-566
Author(s):  
M. J. BERRIDGE
Keyword(s):  
Osmotic Pressure ◽  
Urine Flow ◽  
Malpighian Tubules ◽  
Hormone Concentration ◽  
Serum Dilution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Tentative Hypothesis ◽  
Cotton Stainer ◽  
Urine Formation ◽  
Different Parts

1. The preparation of isolated Malpighian tubules is described. The rate of urine flow increases with increasing serum dilution, and vice versa. Urine is almost isotonic with haemolymph over a wide range of osmotic pressure. 2. Serum collected from 3-day-old insects promotes urine formation, whereas that from 6-day-old insects does not. 3. A factor which was extracted from the m.n.c. accelerates the rate of urine flow, from a normal value of 0·87 to 3·1 mm.3 x 10- 3/min. The osmotic pressure of the urine, however, remains unchanged. 4. The hormone concentration of different parts of the nervous system was assayed with these isolated tubules. Most activity occurs in the m.n.c., but some activity is present in extracts from the c.c. and the fused ganglionic mass in the mesothorax. 5. Malpighian tubules isolated from 6-day-old insects remain inactive, but after the addition of hormone they immediately begin to produce urine. 6. These observations have been incorporated into a tentative hypothesis on the control of excretion in Dysdercus.

The Excretion of Sodium, Potassium and Water by the Malpighian Tubules of the Stick inSect, Dixippus Morosus (Orthoptera, Phasmidae)

1955 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 200-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. RAMSAY
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Concentration ◽  
Physiological Activity ◽  
Liquid Paraffin ◽  
Stick Insect ◽  
Proximal Region ◽  
Malpighian Tubules ◽  
Electrochemical Gradient ◽  
Sodium Potassium ◽  
Single Tubules ◽  
Sodium And Potassium

1. The excretion of sodium, potassium and water by the Malpighian tubules of the stick insect has been further studied in preparations of single tubules isolated in droplets of medium under liquid paraffin. 2. There is some gradation of physiological activity along the length of the superior tubule. Sodium, potassium and water are secreted into the tubule at all levels, but the sodium/potassium ratio is greater in the proximal region. 3. The proximal and middle regions of the inferior tubule have not been shown to differ in any way from the corresponding regions of the superior tubule. The distal dilatation has quite different properties and does not produce urine. 4. The rate of urine flow increases markedly as the potassium concentration in the medium is increased; the corresponding effect of sodium is barely detectable. 5. Sodium, like potassium, can be actively transported against an electrochemical gradient, and does not appear to compete with potassium in the secretory mechanism. 6. The rates of secretion of sodium and potassium vary in direct proportion to the respective concentrations of these ions in the medium. The rate of secretion of potassium is more than ten times greater than that of sodium.

Fine Structure of the Malpighian Tubules of the Mosquito, Culex pipiens

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 402-403
Author(s):  
Brendan Clifford
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Stellate Cell ◽  
Malpighian Tubule ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Instar Larva ◽  
Malpighian Tubules ◽  
Calliphora Erythrocephala ◽  
Distinct Cell ◽  
Basal Plasma

An ultrastructural investigation of the Malpighian tubules of the fourth instar larva of Culex pipiens was undertaken as part of a continuing study of the fine structure of transport epithelia.Each of the five Malpighian tubules was found to be morphologically identical and regionally undifferentiated. Two distinct cell types, the primary and stellate, were found intermingled along the length of each tubule. The ultrastructure of the stellate cell was previously described in the Malpighian tubule of the blowfly, Calliphora erythrocephala by Berridge and Oschman.The basal plasma membrane of the primary cell is extremely irregular, giving rise to a complex interconnecting network of basal channels. The compartments of cytoplasm entrapped within this system of basal infoldings contain mitochondria, free ribosomes, and small amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The mitochondria are distinctive in that the cristae run parallel to the long axis of the organelle.

Electrophysiology of the Giant Nerve Cell Bodies of Limnaea Stagnalis (L.) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)

1974 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-671
Author(s):  
D. B. SATTELLE
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Constant Field ◽  
Bathing Medium ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
External Potassium ◽  
Limnaea Stagnalis

1. A mean resting potential of -53.3 (S.D. ±2.7) mV has been obtained for 23 neurones of the parietal and visceral ganglia of Limnaea stagnalis (L.). Changes in the resting potential of between 28 and 43 mV accompany tenfold changes in [K+0]. A modified constant-field equation accounts for the behaviour of most cells over the range of external potassium concentrations from 0-5 to 10.o mM/1. Mean values have been estimated for [K+1, 56.2 (S.D.± 9-0) mM/1 and PNa/PK, 0-117 (S.D.±0-028). 2. Investigations on the ionic basis of action potential generation have revealed two cell types which can be distinguished according to the behaviour of their action potentials in sodium-free Ringer. Sodium-sensitive cells are unable to support action potentials for more than 8-10 min in the absence of sodium. Sodium slopes of between 29 and 37 mV per decade change in [Na+0] have been found for these cells. Tetrodotoxin (5 x 10-5 M) usually blocks action potentials in these neurones. Calcium-free inger produces a marked reduction in the overshoot potential and calcium slopes of about 18 mV per decade change in [Ca2+o] are found. Manganous chloride only partially reduces the action potential overshoot in these cells at concentrations of 10 mM/l. 3. Sodium-insensitive neurones maintain action potentials in the absence of external sodium. Stimulation only slightly reduces the amplitude of the action potential under these conditions and such cells are readily accessible to potassium ions in the bathing medium. A calcium-slope of 29 mV per decade change in [Ca2+o] has been observed in these cells in the absence of external sodium. 4. It is concluded that both sodium and calcium ions can be involved in the generation of the action potential in neurones of Limnaea stagnate, their relative contribution varying in different cells.

Membrane dynamics in insect malpighian tubules

1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (5) ◽  
pp. R967-R972
Author(s):  
T. J. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Ion Transport ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Fluid Secretion ◽  
Membrane Dynamics ◽  
Malpighian Tubules ◽  
Membrane Insertion ◽  
Cation Pump ◽  
Active Ion Transport ◽  
Urine Formation ◽  
Apical Membranes

Urine formation in insects occurs in the Malpighian tubules by means of active ion transport and osmotically coupled water flow. The rates of urine formation can vary with time and can be modulated by diuretic hormones, developmental events, and intracellular parasitism. This paper reviews a number of recent studies in which it has been demonstrated that variations in transport rate are associated with substantial changes in tubule ultrastructure in the form of membrane insertion into and deletion from the apical microvilli. The principal driving force for fluid movement in Malpighian tubules is thought to be a common cation pump located in the apical membranes. It is proposed that modulation of the apical microvillar membrane may reflect regulation by the cells of the number of common cation pump units involved in fluid secretion.

Long-term Adaptations of Sabella Giant Axons to Hyposmotic Stress

1978 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-263
Author(s):  
J. E. TREHERNE ◽  
Y. PICHON
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Potassium Concentration ◽  
Resting Potential ◽  
Sodium Permeability ◽  
Bathing Medium ◽  
Appreciable Change ◽  
Axon Membrane ◽  
Giant Axons

Reprint requests should be addressed to Dr Treherne. Sabella is a euryhaline osmoconformer which is killed by direct transfer to 50% sea water, but can adapt to this salinity with progressive dilution of the sea water. The giant axons were adapted to progressive dilution of the bathing medium (both in vivo and in vitro) and were able to function at hyposmotic dilutions (down to 50%) sufficient to induce conduction block in unadapted axons. Hyposmotic adaptation of the giant axon involves a decrease in intracellular potassium concentration which tends to maintain a relatively constant resting potential during adaptation despite the reduction in external potassium concentration. There is no appreciable change in the intracellular sodium concentration, but the relative sodium permeability of the active membrane increases during hyposmotic adaptation. This increase partially compensates for the reduction in sodium gradient across the axon membrane, during dilution of the bathing media, by increasing the overshoot of the action potentials recorded in hyposmotically adapted axons.

The Sensitivity of the Pedal Ganglion of the Slug to Osmotic Pressure Changes

1956 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-501
Author(s):  
G. A. KERKUT ◽  
B. J. R. TAYLOR
Keyword(s):  
Osmotic Pressure ◽  
Ionic Concentration ◽  
The Body ◽  
Bathing Solution ◽  
Pedal Ganglion ◽  
Bathing Medium ◽  
Rates Of Change ◽  
Fluid Concentration ◽  
Locke Solution ◽  
Pressure Changes

1. The effects of different dilutions of Locke solution on the electrical activity of the isolated pedal ganglion of the slug can be reproduced by adding different concentrations of glucose of mannitol to a given concentration of Locke. 2. This indicates that certain cells in the pedal ganglion are sensitive to the osmotic pressure of the solution and not its ionic concentration. 3. The preparation is sensitive to slow changes in the concentration of the bathing medium. The cells increased their activity when the bathing solution was slowly changed from 0.7 Locke to 0.6 Locke, the change taking 43 min. This corresponds approximately to a change of 1% of the body fluid concentration over 4 min. Such rates of change are found in the normal intact animal. 4. The sensitivity of the preparation compares well with that of the mammalian osmoreceptors.

Sodium, Potassium and Nitrogen Balances in Chronic Nephrectomized Dogs

1956 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-178
Author(s):  
C. Riley Houck
Keyword(s):  
Peritoneal Dialysis ◽  
Plasma Protein ◽  
Nitrogen Balance ◽  
Potassium Concentration ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sodium Balance ◽  
Sodium Potassium ◽  
Peritoneal Dialysate ◽  
Low Salt

Twelve bilaterally nephrectomized dogs on a low-salt, 54 cal/kg/day diet were maintained for periods up to 3 weeks by intermittent peritoneal dialysis. This procedure maintained the animals in normal sodium balance but provided both a negative potassium and nitrogen balance. The over-all loss of potassium occurred even though the dialysate potassium concentration was varied from 2.8–3.7 mEq/l. It is believed that the negative K and N balances are brought about by loss of plasma protein and some erythrocytes into the peritoneal dialysate. The data indicate that K and N are not lost from the body in the same ratio that they occur in tissues. Renoprival hypertension developes despite failure of the body to retain sodium and despite loss of both potassium and nitrogen from the body.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document