Anat Biol Anthropol.  2023 Mar;36(1):1-7. 10.11637/aba.2023.36.1.1.

Response of Renal Intercalated Cells to Dietary Potassium Intake

• Lee SY
• Han KH

• KMID: 2541219
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11637/aba.2023.36.1.1

Abstract

While ancient humans consumed enough potassium (K⁺ ), modern humans have insufficient K⁺ intake. The renal collecting duct plays an important role in regulating K⁺ homeostasis. There are at least three different types of cells in the collecting duct. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of dietary K⁺ intake on collecting duct intercalated cells. C57BL/6 mice had free access to a control (1%), low (<0.01%), or high (5%) K⁺ diet for 1 week. Kidney tissue were processed for light microscopic immunohistochemistry and image analysis. Excessive dietary K⁺ intake or deficiency significantly changed blood K⁺ concentrations in mice. The size of type A intercalated cells increased by about 1.6 times in the low K⁺ group and decreased in the high K⁺ group. Conversely, the size of type B intercalated cells decreased in the low K⁺ group and increased in the high K⁺ group. The response of NANB cells to dietary K⁺ intake was generally like type B cells. These results demonstrated that renal intercalated cells vary greatly with dietary K⁺ intake. The structural changes in response to K⁺ imbalance may be closely related to cardiovascular and renal disorders in modern humans.

Keyword

Kidney; Collecting duct; Potassium; Modern human