Neutrophil migration across infected mucosal surfaces is chemokine dependent, but the role of chemokine receptors has not been investigated. In this study, chemokine receptors were shown to be expressed by epithelial cells lining the urinary tract, and to play an essential role for neutrophil migration across the mucosal barrier. Uroepithelial CXCR1 and CXCR2 expression was detected in human ur...

Ussing's model for sodium transport across epithelia assumes the existence of two barriers in series; the outer barrier behaves as a sodium electrode and the inner barrier as a potassium electrode (Koefoed-Johnsen and Ussing, 1958); furthermore, these membranes are supposed to be independent of one another. Although experimental determinations of the changes in transepithelial potential across ...

Mammalian bladder epithelium functions as an effective permeability barrier. We demonstrate here that this epithelium can also function as a secretory tissue directly involved in modifying urinary protein composition. Our data indicate that normal bovine urothelium synthesizes, as its major differentiation products, two well-known proteases: tissue-type plasminogen activator and urokinase, as w...

BACKGROUND Gut barrier loss has been implicated as a critical event in the occurrence of postoperative complications. We aimed to study the development of gut barrier loss in patients undergoing major non-abdominal surgery. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Twenty consecutive children undergoing spinal fusion surgery were included. This kind of surgery is characterized by long operation time, si...

In the kidney, the slit diaphragm joins adjacent podocytes, forming an epithelial barrier that filters plasma into the urinary space, yet retains blood cells and proteins within the circulation. In this issue of the JCI, Soda et al. have identified clathrin-mediated endocytosis as a central mechanism by which the function and structural integrity of the slit diaphragm are maintained.

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 infor...

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Although diabetes is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide, most people with diabetic nephropathy will never develop ESRD but will instead die of cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD). The first evidence of kidney injury in diabetes is often microalbuminuria, itself also an independent risk marker for CVD. Although the two processes are closely associated, the recent fai...

BACKGROUND Urinary catheters are the major cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and often may be unnecessary. We attempted to reduce the number of CAUTIs by limiting the use of urinary catheters. METHODS The number of catheters and CAUTIs were recorded during a control period of 7 months. A program was implemented limiting these catheters to patients who had urinary ...

The gut barrier monitors and protects the gastrointestinal tract from challenges such as microorganisms, toxins and proteins that could act as antigens. There is evidence that gut barrier dysfunction may act as a primary disease mechanism in intestinal disorders. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the barrier function towards sugars after the appropriate treatment of celiac disease an...