Topic 2b: Homeostasis

FSC BIO 134

Biology 2
Foundation in Science
Dr Chew

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Learning outcomes
• Outline osmoregulation of kidney
• Describe the detailed structure of the nephron with the
associated blood vessels.
• Explain the process of urine formation
• Control of blood pressure & volume

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Excretion
• The removal of these unwanted products of metabolism is known as
excretion.
• Two main excretory products
• Carbon dioxide
• Urea
• Carbon dioxide is produced continuously by the cells.
• From respiring aerobically.
• The waste carbon dioxide is transported from respiring cells to the
lungs (through blood streams)
• Gas exchanges → CO2 diffuses out → excreted out to the air.

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Deamination
• More protein is eaten than is needed, the excess cannot be stored in
the body.
• It is wasteful to store it, better to get rid of the excess, → amino acids
also can provide useful energy by going through deamination.

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 Deamination
• In the liver cells, the amino group (−NH2 ) of an amino acid is removed,
together with an extra hydrogen atom.
• These combine to produce ammonia (NH3 ).
• The keto acid remains
• may enter the Krebs cycle and be respired,
• it may be converted to glucose, or converted to glycogen
• or converted to fat for storage.

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Deamination
• Ammonia is a very soluble and highly toxic compound.
• Can build up quickly in terrestrial animals.
• Ammonia converted into urea to prevent damage.
• Urea is less soluble and less toxic.
• Urea cycle, are involved in combining ammonia and carbon dioxide to
form urea.

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Deamination
• Urea is the main nitrogenous excretory product of humans.
• Other nitrogenous excretory products from body
• creatinine
• uric acid
• Creatinine is made in the liver, from certain amino acids.
• Creatinine is used in the muscles, in the form of creatine phosphate as energy
store.
• Uric acid is made from the breakdown of purines from nucleotides,
not from amino acids.

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Deamination
• Urea diffuses from liver cells into the blood plasma.
• All of the urea made each day must be excreted
• Dangerous if build up in blood.
• Blood is filtered and excreted when pass through kidneys.

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Kidney’s structure
• Kidney receives blood from a renal
artery, and returns blood via a renal
vein.
• ureter, a narrow tube that carries
urine from the kidney to the
bladder.
• urethra, a single tube from bladder
that carries urine to the outside of
the body.

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Kidney’s structure
• The whole kidney is covered by a fairly
tough capsule.
• Cortex lies beneath the capsule.
• The central area is made up of the
medulla.
• Ureter joins to pelvis.

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Kidney’s structure

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Kidney’s structure
• Kidney is made up of thousands of tiny
tubes, nephrons.
• One end of the tube forms a cup-shaped
structure called a Bowman’s capsule.
• Bowman’s capsule surrounds a tight
network of blood capillaries,
glomerulus.
• Twisted region - proximal convoluted
tubule (from bowman’s capsule), distal
convoluted tubule (going to collecting
ducts)
• Long hairpin loop in the medulla – loop
of Henle.

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Kidney’s structure
• Blood vessels are closely associated
with the nephrons.
• Each glomerulus is supplied with blood
by an afferent arteriole.
• Exiting glomerulus form an efferent
arteriole.
• Efferent arteriole form a network of
capillaries running alongside nephron
and ends with renal vein.

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Kidney’s structure
Kidney makes urine in a two-stage process.
• 1st stage ultrafiltration
• filtering small molecules, including urea, out of the blood and into the
Bowman’s capsule.
• From the Bowman’s capsule the molecules flow along the nephron towards
the ureter.
• 2nd stage selective reabsorption.
• taking back any useful molecules from the fluid in the nephron as it flows
along.

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Ultrafiltration
Structure
• The blood in the glomerular capillaries is
separated from the lumen of the Bowman’s
capsule by two cell layers and a basement
membrane.
• The first cell layer is the lining, or endothelium of
the capillary.
• Basement membrane, is made up of a network
of collage and glycoproteins.
• The 2nd cell layer is formed from epithelial cells,
made up the inner lining of the Bowman’s
capsule.
• These cells have many tiny finger-like
projections with gaps in between them, and are
called podocytes

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Ultrafiltration
Structure
• The holes in the capillary endothelium
& the gaps between the podocytes
are quite large – allow substances
dissolved in the blood plasma from
the blood into the capsule.
• Basement membrane stops
substances from getting through
• large protein molecules (> 69000 r.m.m.)
• Red blood cell
• White blood cell

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Ultrafiltration

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Factors affecting glomerular filtration rate
• glomerular filtration rate - the rate at which the fluid filters from the
blood in the glomerular capillaries into the Bowman’s
• Human’s kidney – rate is 15cm3min-1.
• The rate have to be high.
What makes the fluid filter through so quickly?
• Because of the water potential between the plasma (glomerular
capillaries) and filtrate (Bowman’s capsule).
• Lowered by solutes, raised by pressure.

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Factors affecting glomerular filtration rate
• In glomerulus, blood pressure is high
• Diameter of efferent arteriole is narrower than afferent arteriole.
• But, [solutes] in the blood plasma (capillaries) is higher than [solutes] in the
filtrate (Bowman’s capsule).
• Plasma protein molecules retains in the plasma. (too big)
• Make the water potential in blood lower than filtrate.

• However, overall water potential of the blood plasma in the glomerulus is

higher than the water potential of the filtrate in the capsule.
• So water continues to move down the water potential gradient from the
blood into the capsule.

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Selective Reabsorption
• Most of the substances in the blood are filter out.
• Then, only certain substances are reabsorbed back to the body.
• Selective reabsorption – The process of which only certain substances
are reabsorbed back to the body.
• Takes place in the proximal convoluted tubule.

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S.R. | Proximal convoluted tubule
Adaptation of the structure to the function
(Lining of the nephron, simple cuboidal epithelial cells.)
• microvilli to increase the surface area of the inner surface facing the
lumen
• tight junctions that hold adjacent cells together so that fluid cannot
pass between the cells (all substances that are reabsorbed must go
through the cells)
• many mitochondria to provide energy for sodium– potassium (Na+–
K+) pump proteins in the outer membranes of the cells
• co-transporter proteins in the membrane facing the lumen.

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S.R. | Proximal convoluted tubule
3) At 3
• This movement of glucose, and of other solutes (indirect or secondary
active transport) since ATP is used in the pumping of sodium ions, not
in moving these solutes.
• All of the glucose in the glomerular filtrate is transported out of the
proximal convoluted tubule and into the blood.
• So no glucose is present in urine.
• Similarly, amino acids, vitamins, and many sodium and chloride ions
(Cl−) are reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubule.

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S.R. | Proximal convoluted tubule
Effect?
• This will greatly increase the water potential gradient.
• More solutes in blood, less water potential in blood.
• Water moves down this gradients through the cells and into the bloods.
• quite a lot of urea is reabsorbed too
• Urea is a small molecule which passes easily through cell membranes.
• concentration in the filtrate is considerably higher than that in the capillaries,
• diffuses passively
• half of the urea in the filtrate is reabsorbed in this way.
• uric acid and creatinine, are not reabsorbed.
• Creatinine is actively secreted by the cells into proximal convoluted lumen.

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S.R. | Proximal convoluted tubule
Effect?
• Greatly reduces the volume of liquid remaining.
• around 125 cm3 of fluid enter the proximal tubules every minute, but only
about 64% of this passes on to the next region of each nephron, the loop of
Henle.

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S.R. | Loop of Henle & Collecting duct
• About one-third of our nephrons have
long loops of Henle.
• These dip down into the medulla.
• The function of these long loops is to create a
very high concentration of sodium and
chloride ions in the tissue fluid in the
medulla.
• Allows a lot of more water to be absorbed.
• Results in concentrated urine, conserved
water.

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S.R. | Loop of Henle & Collecting duct
Structure
• Hairpin loop runs deep into the medulla of the
kidney
• Then turns back towards the cortex again.
• The first part of the loop is the descending
limb,
• The second part is the ascending limb.

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S.R. | Loop of Henle & Collecting duct
• Descending limb,
• Permeable to water, water diffuse out of the loop by osmosis
• Na+ and Cl- ions diffuse into the loop (passively) down their concentration
gradient
• The fluid becomes more concentrated towards the bottom of the loop.
• contains much less water and many more sodium and chloride ions.
• 4x higher than blood plasma

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S.R. | Loop of Henle & Collecting duct
• Ascending limb (lower part)
• As its flow up to ascending limb, Na+ and Cl- ions passively diffuse ions out
from filtrate.
• Super high concentration of Na+ and Cl- ions in filtrate.
• Gradually becoming less concentrated as it ascending.
• Ascending limb (higher part)
• Not permeable to water, actively transporting Na+ and Cl- ions out
• Decreases the water potential in the tissue fluid and increases the water
potential of the fluid inside the ascending limb (filtrate).
• As it climbs, gradually less concentrated / more diluted

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S.R. | Loop of Henle & Collecting duct
• Having the two limbs of the loop running side by
side like this, with the fluid flowing down in one
and up in the other,
• Enables the maximum concentration of solutes
to be built up both inside and outside the tube
at the bottom of the loop.
• generate the steep osmotic gradient between
the medulla and cortex
• This mechanism is called a counter-current
multiplier
• expend energy to create concentration gradients

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S.R. | Loop of Henle & Collecting duct
• The fluid go through the distal convoluted tubule into the collecting
duct, which runs down into the medulla again.
• Pass through the regions with high [solute] of tissue fluid, low water
potential.
• Water therefore can move out of the collecting duct, by osmosis, until
the water potential of urine is the same as the water potential of the
tissue fluid in the medulla,
• (which may be much greater than the water potential of the blood.)
• The degree to which this happens is controlled by antidiuretic
hormone (ADH).
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S.R. | Distal convoluted tubule
• The first part of the distal convoluted tubule functions in the same way as the
ascending limb of the loop of Henle.
• The second part functions in the same way as the collecting duct.

In the distal convoluted tubule (2nd part) & collecting duct

• Na+ ions are actively pumped from the fluid in the tubule → tissue
fluid → into the blood.
• K+ ions, are actively transported into the tubule.
• The rate of these two ions are moved into and out of the fluid in the nephron
can be varied, and helps to regulate the concentration of these ions in the
blood.

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Flow rates in different parts of a nephron.
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Example on animals
• The ability of some small mammals, such as rodents, to produce a very
concentrated urine
• Have thick medulla in their kidneys.
• we can produce urine four times that of our blood plasma
• Desert rodents, such as gerbils and kangaroo rats, can produce a urine that
is about 20 times the concentration of their blood plasma.
• This is possible because the medulla is relatively large , ascending limb of
their loops have deep infolds with many Na+–K+ pumps & cytoplasm filled
with many mitochondria,
• allow the production of much ATP to provide the energy for the pumping of
Na+ into the tissue fluid.

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Osmoregulation
• Osmoregulation is the control of the water potential of body fluids.
• It is a homeostasis
• 3 organs: hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland and the kidneys
• In mammals, both the volume and osmolarity of urine are adjusted
according to an animal’s water and salt balance and its rate of urea
production.
• high salt intake and low water availability, a mammal can excrete urea and
salt in minimal water (small volumes of hyperosmotic urine)
• If salt is scarce and fluid intake is high, the kidney can instead eliminate the
excess water with little salt loss by producing large volumes of
hypoosmotic urine.

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Antidiuretic Hormones
• Osmoreceptors - The water potential of the
blood is constantly monitored by specialised
sensory neurones in the hypothalamus.
1. When these cells detect a decrease in the
water potential of the blood.
2. nerve impulses are sent along the
neurones to where they terminate in the
posterior pituitary gland.
3. These impulses stimulate the release of
antidiuretic hormone (ADH),
• which is a peptide hormone made of nine amino
acids.
4. The effect of ADH is to reduce the loss of
water in the urine by making the kidney
reabsorb as much water as possible.

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Antidiuretic Hormones
How ADH affects the kidneys ?
• Water is reabsorbed by osmosis from the fluid in the nephron as the
fluid passes through the collecting ducts.
• Collecting duct are the target cells for ADH
• This hormone acts on the cell surface membranes of the collecting
ducts cells, making them more permeable to water than usual.
• Increasing the number of water-permeable channels, aquaporin.

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 increasing the permeability of the membrane
to water.
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Antidiuretic Hormones

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Antidiuretic Hormones
What happens when you have more than enough water in the body?
1. When there is an increase in the water potential of the blood, the
osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus are no longer stimulated
2. The neurones in the posterior pituitary gland stop secreting ADH.
3. The aquaporins are moved out of the cell surface membrane of the
collecting duct cells, back into the cytoplasm as part of the vesicles.
4. This makes the collecting duct cells impermeable to water.
5. The fluid flows down the collecting duct without losing any water,
so a dilute urine collects in the pelvis and flows down the ureter to
the bladder.

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Antidiuretic Hormones
• The collecting duct cells do not respond
immediately to the reduction in ADH
secretion by the posterior pituitary gland.
• This is because it takes some time, because
ADH still in the blood to be broken down
• approximately half of it is destroyed every 15–
20 minutes.
• However, once ADH stops arriving at the
collecting duct cells, it takes 10–15 minutes
for aquaporins to be removed from the cell
surface membrane and taken back into the
cytoplasm until they are needed again.

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Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS)

• The release of ADH is a response to an increase in blood osmolarity.

• when the body is dehydrated from excessive water loss or inadequate water
intake
• But how about excess loss of salt and body fluids?
• Eg. Major wound / severe diarrhea
• Reduce blood volume without increasing osmolarity.
• How will body response to it?

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Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS)

• Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) also regulates kidney

function.
• RAAS responds to the drop in blood volume and pressure by
increasing water and Na+ reabsorption.
• Involves the juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA)
• a specialized tissue consisting of cells of and around the afferent arteriole,
which supplies blood to the glomerulus.

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Renin
• initiates a sequence of
steps that cleave the
angiotensinogen (plasma
protein), then to
angiotensin II.
Angiotensin II
• triggers vasoconstriction,
increasing blood pressure
and decreasing blood flow
to capillaries in the kidney
(and elsewhere).
• stimulates the adrenal
glands to release
aldosterone
Aldosterone
• causes the nephrons’
distal tubules and
collecting duct to
reabsorb more Na+ &
water, increasing blood
volume and pressure.

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The RAAS operates as a feedback circuit.
• A drop in blood pressure and blood volume triggers renin release.
• The resulting production of angiotensin II and release of aldosterone
• Cause a rise in blood pressure and volume,
• Rise of the blood pressure & volume will reduce the release of renin
from the JGA.

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Thank you and all the best!!

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