AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 247, Issue 1 29-R33, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Lymphatic, renal, and urinary kallikreins in the rat
R. Garcia, G. Thibault and J. Genest
In pentobarbital-anesthetized rats the lymphatic vessels next to the renal
artery and the urinary bladder were cannulated and lymph and urine were
collected for 3 h. The kidneys were then washed and removed. Four
experimental groups were studied. Kallikrein was measured in lymph, urine,
and kidney extracts by a direct radioimmunoassay. Immunoreactive renal and
urinary kallikreins were higher in a Na-deficient group. No changes were
brought about by furosemide administration or Na supplementation. A very
low concentration of immunoreactive kallikrein was found in lymph, with no
differences between the groups. In the same urine and kidney extract
samples, both total (trypsin-activated) kallikrein and naturally active
kallikrein were determined as kininogenase activity in the rat uterus
bioassay. Both active and inactive kallikreins were found in kidney and
urine, but most of the changes induced by a Na-deficient diet or furosemide
administration were restricted to the active form. It is suggested that the
lymphatic route in the kidney is probably not an important source of
circulating immunoreactive glandular kallikrein.
