Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Hypertens Res. 2021 Jun;44(6):605-617. doi: 10.1038/s41440-020-00612-y. Epub 2021 Feb 1.
Total nephron counts vary widely between individuals and may affect susceptibility to certain diseases, including hypertension and chronic kidney disease. Detailed analyses of whole kidneys collected from autopsy patients remain the only method for accurately counting nephrons in humans, with no equivalent option in living subjects. Current technological advances have enabled estimations of nephron numbers in vivo, particularly the use of total nephron number and whole-kidney glomerular filtration rate to estimate the mean single-nephron glomerular filtration rate. The use of this method would allow physicians to detect dynamic changes in filtration function at the single-nephron level rather than to simply count the number of nephrons that appear to be functioning. Currently available methods for estimating total nephron number in clinical practice have the potential to overcome limitations associated with autopsy analyses and may therefore pave the way for new therapeutic interventions and improved clinical outcomes.
个体之间的总肾单位数量差异很大，可能会影响某些疾病的易感性，包括高血压和慢性肾脏病。对尸检患者采集的整个肾脏进行详细分析仍然是准确计数人类肾单位的唯一方法，在活体中没有等效的方法。目前的技术进步已经能够在体内估计肾单位数量，特别是使用总肾单位数量和整个肾脏肾小球滤过率来估计平均单肾单位肾小球滤过率。这种方法的使用将使医生能够检测到单个肾单位水平的滤过功能的动态变化，而不仅仅是简单地计数似乎在起作用的肾单位数量。目前在临床实践中估计总肾单位数量的方法有可能克服与尸检分析相关的局限性，因此可能为新的治疗干预措施和改善的临床结果铺平道路。
