Ronco P, Dosquet P, Verroust P
Service de Néphrologie A, Hôpital Tenon, Paris.
Presse Med. 1988 Sep 24;17(32):1641-6.
Tamm-Horsfall protein is the most abundant protein in normal urine and the main component of urinary casts, but its precise physiological role remains to be elucidated. The interest raised by this protein has recently been boosted by the finding that its gene is identical with that of uromodulin, a glycoprotein purified from urine of pregnant women and endowed with immunosuppressive activity. In this review, are analyzed successively: the structure and physico-chemical properties of Tamm-Horsfall protein which is remarkable by its capacity for gel formation, its localization along the nephron where it is synthesized by cells of the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, its extra-renal distribution apparently restricted to the serum and its potential physiological and pathological roles. Studies of renal biopsies with specific antibodies may provide information on the part taken by tubular obstruction in the development of renal failure.
Tamm-Horsfall蛋白是正常尿液中含量最丰富的蛋白质，也是尿沉渣的主要成分，但其确切的生理作用仍有待阐明。最近，由于发现该蛋白的基因与从孕妇尿液中纯化出来并具有免疫抑制活性的糖蛋白尿调节蛋白的基因相同，这一蛋白引发的关注度有所提高。在这篇综述中，将依次分析：Tamm-Horsfall蛋白的结构和物理化学性质，其以形成凝胶的能力而显著；它在肾单位中的定位，它由亨氏袢升支粗段细胞合成；其肾外分布显然局限于血清；以及其潜在的生理和病理作用。使用特异性抗体进行肾活检研究可能会提供有关肾小管阻塞在肾衰竭发展中所起作用的信息。
