Summary: Review
Cell biology and physiology of the uroepithelium
Puneet Khandelwal,1
Soman N. Abraham,2
and Gerard Apodaca1,3
1
Laboratory of Epithelial Cell Biology and Renal Electrolyte Division, Department of Medicine, and 3
Department of Cell
Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and 2
Departments of Pathology, Molecular
Genetics and Microbiology, and Immunology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Submitted 10 June 2009; accepted in final form 30 June 2009
Khandelwal P, Abraham SN, Apodaca G. Cell biology and physiology of the
uroepithelium. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 297: F1477­F1501, 2009. First pub-
lished July 8, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00327.2009.--The uroepithelium sits at
the interface between the urinary space and underlying tissues, where it forms a
high-resistance barrier to ion, solute, and water flux, as well as pathogens.
However, the uroepithelium is not simply a passive barrier; it can modulate the
composition of the urine, and it functions as an integral part of a sensory web in
which it receives, amplifies, and transmits information about its external milieu to

Source: Apodaca, Gerard - Departments of Medicine & Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh

Collections: Biology and Medicine