Renal Regulation of Potassium, Calcium, Phosphate &

Magnesium: integration of renal mechanism

1 CONTROL OF RENAL CALCIUM EXCRETION & EXTARCELLULAR CALCIUM ION
CONCENTRATION
Extracellular fluid calcium ion concentration normally remains tightly controlled within a few percentage
points of its normal level, 2.4 mEq/L. About 50 percent of the total calcium in the plasma (5 mEq/L)
exists in the ionized form, which is the form that has biological activity at cell membranes. The
remainder is either bound to the plasma proteins (about 40 percent) or complexed in the non-ionized
form with anions such as phosphate and citrate (about 10 percent).
A large share of calcium excretion occurs in the feces. The usual rate of dietary calcium intake is about
1000 mg/day, with about 900 mg/day of calcium excreted in the feces. Therefore, the gastrointestinal
tract and the regulatory mechanisms that influence intestinal calcium absorption and secretion play a
major role in calcium homeostasis
Almost all the calcium in the body (99 percent) is stored in the bone. The bone, therefore, acts as a
large reservoir for storing calcium. One of the most important regulators of bone uptake and release of
calcium is PTH.
CONTROL OF CALCIUM EXCRETION BY THE KIDNEYS
Over the long term, the intake of calcium must be balanced with calcium excretion by the
gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys. The most important regulator of calcium reabsorption at both of
these sites is PTH. Thus, PTH regulates plasma calcium concentration through three main effects:
1. By stimulating bone resorption
2. By stimulating activation of vitamin D,
which the increases intestinal reabsorption
of calcium
3. By directly increasing renal tubular
calcium reabsorption
Only about 50 percent of the plasma calcium
is ionized, with the remainder being bound to
the plasma proteins or complexed with anions
such as phosphate. Therefore, only about 50
percent of the plasma calcium can be filtered
Normally, about 99 percent of the filtered calcium is reabsorbed by the tubules, with only about 1
percent of the filtered calcium being excreted. About 65 percent of the filtered calcium is reabsorbed in
the proximal tubule, 25 to 30 percent is reabsorbed in the loop of Henle, and 4 to 9 percent is
reabsorbed in the distal and collecting tubules. This pattern of reabsorption is similar to that for sodium
Proximal Tubular Calcium Reabsorption
Most of the calcium reabsorption in the proximal tubule occurs through the paracellular pathway,
dissolved in water and carried with the reabsorbed fluid as it flows between the cells. Only about 20%
of proximal tubular calcium reabsorption occurs through the transcellular pathway in two steps:
1. Calcium diffuses from the tubular lumen into the cell down an electrochemical gradient due to
the much higher concentration of calcium in the tubular lumen, compared with the epithelial cell
cytoplasm, and because the cell interior has a negative relative to the tubular lumen
2. Calcium exits the cell across the basolateral membrane by a calcium-ATPase pump and by
sodium-calcium counter-transporter
Loop of Henle and Distal Tubule Calcium Reabsorption
In the loop of Henle, calcium reabsorption is restricted to the thick ascending limb. Approximately
50% of calcium reabsorption in the thick ascending limb occurs through the paracellular route by

passive diffusion due to the slight positive charge of the tubular lumen relative to the interstitial fluid.
The remaining 50% of calcium reabsorption in the thick ascending limb occurs through the transcellular
pathway, a process that is stimulated by PTH.
In the distal tubule, calcium reabsorption
occurs almost entirely by active transport through
the cell membrane. The mechanism for this active
transport is similar to that in the proximal tubule
and thick ascending limb and involves diffusion
across the luminal membrane through calcium
channels and exit across the basolateral
membrane by a calcium-ATPase pump, as well as
a sodium-calcium counter transport mechanism

Factors that Regulate Tubular Calcium Reabsorption

Parathyroid Hormone (PTH)

Increased levels of PTH stimulate calcium reabsorption in the thick ascending loops of Henle and
distal tubules. Vice versa
Expansion/contraction of extracellular volume or increased/decreased arterial pressure
in Proximal Tubule
In the proximal tubule, calcium reabsorption parallels sodium and water reabsorption and is
independent of PTH. Extracellular volume expansion or increased arterial pressure both of which
decrease proximal sodium and water reabsorption there is also reduction in calcium reabsorption
and, consequently, increased urinary excretion of calcium
Plasma concentration of Phosphate
Increased plasma phosphate stimulates PTH, which increases calcium reabsorption by the renal
tubules, thereby reducing calcium excretion. Vice versa
Stimulate metabolic acidosis and inhibited by metabolic alkalosis
Most of the effect of hydrogen ion concentration on calcium excretion results from changes in
calcium reabsorption in the distal tubule

REGULATION OF RENAL PHOSPHATE EXCRETION

Phosphate excretion by the kidneys is controlled primarily by an overflow mechanism that can be
explained as follows:
1. The renal tubules have a normal transport maximum for reabsorbing phosphate of about 0.1
mM/min
2. When less than this amount of phosphate is present in the glomerular filtrate, essentially all the
filtered phosphate is reabsorbed
3. When more than this is present, the excess is excreted

4. Therefore, phosphate normally begins to spill into the urine when its concentration in the
extracellular fluid rises above a threshold of about 0.8 mM/L, which gives a tubular load of
phosphate of about 0.1 mM/min, assuming a GFR of 125 ml/min.
The proximal tubule normally reabsorbs 75-80 percent of the filtered phosphate. The distal tubule
reabsorbs about 10 percent of the filtered load, and only very small amounts are reabsorbed in the loop
of Henle, collecting tubules, and collecting ducts. Approximately 10 percent of the filtered phosphate is
excreted in the urine.
In the proximal tubule, phosphate reabsorption occurs mainly through the transcellular pathway.
Phosphate enters the cell from the lumen by a sodium-phosphate co-transporter and exits the cell
across the basolateral membrane by a process that is not well understood but may involve a counter
transport mechanism in which phosphate is exchanged for an anion
PTH can play a significant role in regulating phosphate concentration through two effects:
1. PTH promotes bone resorption, thereby dumping large amounts of phosphate ions into the
extracellular fluid from the bone salts
2. PTH decreases the transport maximum for phosphate by the renal tubules, so a greater
proportion of the tubular phosphate is lost in the urine
Thus, whenever plasma PTH is increased, tubular phosphate reabsorption is decreased and more
phosphate is excreted

2 CONTROL OF RENAL MAGNESIUM EXCRETION AND EXTRACELLULAR MAGNESIUM

ION CONCENTRATION
The normal daily intake of magnesium is about 250 to 300 mg/day, but only about one half of this
intake is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. To maintain magnesium balance, the kidneys must
excrete this absorbed magnesium, about one half the daily intake of magnesium, or 125 to 150 mg/day.
The kidneys normally excrete about 10 to 15 percent of the magnesium in the glomerular filtrate.
Regulation of magnesium excretion is achieved mainly by changing tubular reabsorption. The proximal
tubule usually reabsorbs only about 25 percent of the filtered magnesium. The primary site of
reabsorption is the loop of Henle, where about 65 percent of the filtered load of magnesium is
reabsorbed. Only a small amount (usually <5 percent) of the filtered magnesium is reabsorbed in the
distal and collecting tubules.
The mechanisms that regulate magnesium excretion are not well understood, but the following
disturbances lead to increased magnesium excretion:
1. Increased extracellular fluid magnesium concentration
2. Extracellular volume expansion
3. Increased extracellular fluid calcium concentration.

3 INTEGRATION OF RENAL MECHANISM FOR CONTROL OF EXTRACELLULAR FLUID

Extracellular fluid volume is determined mainly by the balance between intake and output of water and
salt. Therefore, the burden of extracellular volume regulation is usually placed on the kidneys, which
must adapt their excretion of salt and water to match intake of salt and water under steady-state
conditions.
Sodium Intake and Excretion are Precisely Matched Under Steady-state Condition
To maintain life, a person must, over the long term, excrete almost precisely the amount of sodium
ingested. If disturbances of kidney function are not too severe, sodium balance may be achieved mainly
by intrarenal adjustments with minimal. But when perturbations to the kidneys are severe and
intrarenal compensations are exhausted, systemic adjustments must be invoked, such as changes in
blood pressure, changes in circulating hormones, and alterations of sympathetic nervous system
activity. For example, impaired kidney function may lead to increased blood pressure that, in turn,
helps to maintain normal sodium excretion.

Sodium Excretion is controlled by Altering Glomerular Filtration or Tubular Sodium Reabsorption Rates
Excretion = Glomerular filtration Tubular reabsorption
GFR normally is about 180 L/day, tubular reabsorption is 178.5 L/day, and urine excretion is 1.5 L/day.
Thus, small changes in GFR or tubular reabsorption potentially can cause large changes in renal
excretion. Similarly, small changes in tubular reabsorption, in the absence of compensatory
adjustments of GFR, would also lead to dramatic changes in urine volume and sodium excretion.
Even with disturbances that alter GFR or tubular reabsorption, changes in urinary excretion are
minimized by various buffering mechanisms. For example, if the kidneys become greatly vasodilated
and GFR increases (as can occur with certain drugs or high fever), this raises sodium chloride delivery
to the tubules, which in turn leads to at least two intrarenal compensations:
1. Increased tubular reabsorption of much of the extra sodium chloride filtered, called
glomerulotubular balance<
2. Macula densa feedback, in which increased sodium chloride delivery to the distal tubule causes
afferent arteriolar constriction and return of GFR toward normal
Because neither of these two mechanisms operates perfectly to restore distal sodium chloride delivery
all the way back to normal, changes in either GFR or tubular reabsorption can lead to significant
changes in urine sodium and water excretion. When this happens, other feedback mechanisms come
into play, such as changes in blood pressure and changes in various hormones

4 INTEGRATION OF RENAL MECHANISM FOR CONTROL OF EXTRACELLULAR FLUID

Pressure diuresis refers to the effect of increased blood pressure to raise urinary volume excretion,
whereas Pressure natriuresis refers to the rise in sodium excretion that occurs with elevated blood
pressure.
This shows the effect of arterial pressure
on urinary sodium output. Note that acute
increases in blood pressure of 30-50 mm
Hg cause a twofold to threefold increase in
urinary sodium output. This effect is
independent of changes in activity of the
sympathetic nervous system or of various
hormones, such as angiotensin II, ADH, or
aldosterone, because pressure natriuresis
can be demonstrated in an isolated kidney
that has been removed from the influence
of these factors. With chronic increases
in blood pressure, the effectiveness of
pressure natriuresis is greatly enhanced
because the increased blood pressure also,
after a short time delay, suppresses renin
Pressure Natriuresis and Diuresis are Key Components of a Renal-Body Fluid Feedback for Regulating
Body Fluid Volumes and Arterial Pressure
During changes in sodium and fluid intake, this feedback mechanism helps to maintain fluid balance
and to minimize changes in blood volume, extracellular fluid volume, and arterial pressure as follows:

During changes in sodium and fluid intake, this feedback mechanism helps to maintain fluid balance
and to minimize changes in blood volume, extracellular fluid volume, and arterial pressure as follows:
1. An increase in fluid intake (assuming that sodium accompanies the fluid intake) above the level
of urine output causes a temporary accumulation of fluid in the body.
2. As long as fluid intake exceeds urine output, fluid accumulates in the blood and interstitial
spaces, causing parallel increases in blood volume and extracellular fluid volume. As discussed
later, the actual increases in these variables are usually small because of the effectiveness of
this feedback.
3. An increase in blood volume raises mean circulatory filling pressure.
4. An increase in mean circulatory filling pressure raises the pressure gradient for venous return.
5. An increased pressure gradient for venous return elevates cardiac output.
6. An increased cardiac output raises arterial pressure.
7. An increased arterial pressure increases urine output by way of pressure diuresis. The steepness
of the normal pressure natriuresis relation indicates that only a slight increase in blood pressure
is required to raise urinary excretion several fold.
8. The increased fluid excretion balances the increased intake, and further accumulation of fluid is
prevented.
Precision of Blood Volume and Extracellular Fluid Volume Regulation
One can see why the blood volume remains almost exactly constant despite extreme changes in daily
fluid intake. The reason for this is the following:
1. A slight change in blood volume causes a marked change in cardiac output,
2. A slight change in cardiac output causes a large change in blood pressure
3. A slight change in blood pressure causes a large change in urine output
These factors work together to provide effective feedback control of blood volume

Reference:
Guyton Textbook of Medical Physiology 12th
Edition