Renal Intercalated cells: allien cells inside us?

Abstract

Mammalian renal intercalated cells (ICs) are known for their role in acid secretion and acid- base regulation. Based on previously published data, we discussed the theoretical reasons behind the development of additional renal IC biology characteristics, tracing them back phylogenetically to the simplest animals and protozoa. ICs have the following additional functions or attributes: (1) they play immunological roles in protecting the kidneys against both infective and aseptic kidney damage; (2) they are energized by V-ATPases in a similar fashion to protozoa; (3) they possess a T-antigen that is common in embryonic and cancer cells, which confers invasiveness ability to those cells; and (4) they exhibit plasticity and the ability to regenerate other epithelial cells (i.e., they exhibit stem cell behavior). Renal ICs may derive from amoeboid cells sharing these characteristics that originated from an evolutionary line that includes protists, or even the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA). None. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.