Flow-dependent transport processes 2024: filtration, absorption, secretion.

Abstract

Fred S. Wright, an inaugural Associate Editor of this journal, reviewed flow-dependent processes in the kidney in 1982. His elegant approach leveraged fundamental principles to show how blood flow through glomerular capillaries impacts glomerular filtration, how glomerular filtration rate affects reabsorption along the proximal tubule (the phenomenon of glomerulotubular balance, how flow into the thick ascending limb affects solute transport and luminal ion concentrations, and how flow along the distal tubule affects potassium secretion. In this review, we update those descriptions by introducing knowledge gained since that time regarding transport mechanisms and regulation. The goal is to build on the concepts that Wright introduced and provide a more comprehensive view, while retaining an approach based on first principles that is widely accessible.