The anglerfish and uremic toxins

Levels of Indoxyl Sulfate in Kidney Transplant Patients, and the Relationship With Hard Outcomes

“…Immediately prior to transplantation (T0), there were no differences in either the free or total IS level between patients 19 Even more strikingly, we found that total and free IS levels were significantly lower in transplant recipients than in nonrecipients with CKD matched for age, sex and eGFR, suggesting that kidney transplantation and/or events related to transplantation (including the administration of immunosuppressive drugs) can influence uremic toxin levels. Serum levels of uremic retention solutes are conditioned by both generation and elimination.…”

The Kidney and Uremic Toxin Removal: Glomerulus or Tubule?

“…14,139 Rather than focus on guidelines that depend on estimated glomerular filtration rate, prescribing for patients with chronic renal failure should take into consideration possible competition for OAT transport. 36 In addition, OATs themselves may serve as biomarkers of kidney injury. Kunin et al 140 investigated the urinary OAT1, OAT3, and OAT4 protein abundance of urine membrane fraction samples (exosomes) from patients with acute kidney injury.…”

“…36 If the clinical connection is indeed more efficient removal of highly protein-bound uremic retention solutes in patients with this residual function versus those patients solely dependent on dialysis membranes, then the importance of preserving, and perhaps improving, this residual function in terms of impact on patient outcome cannot be overstated.…”

“…36 However, such strategies, although intriguing, should be approached with caution. It is conceivable that, if an up-regulation of OAT expression were achieved in a dialysis patient, a window of increased uremic toxin clearance may ensue.…”

Geology, Paleoclimatology and the Evolution of the Kidney: Some Explorations into the Legacy of Homer Smith

“…As stated by Homer Smith, the presence of a glomerulus in a marine environment might actually compromise water conservation and indeed in some marine teleosts such as the sea horse or anglerfish, the glomerulus has virtually disappeared, whereas in other saltwater species, the glomerular volume is reduced as compared to freshwater teleosts [35,37,38]. Nitrogenous waste removal in these animals occurs through the gills as well as tubular handling [35,39]. …”