Calcium and oxalate concentrations in human renal tissue: the key to the pathogenesis of stone formation?

On the basis of what we know about urinary supersaturation and particle growth inhibitors stone formation is unlikely to start from free crystalluric particles in the renal tubule. Therefore, the object of this study is to report data on the intrarenal distribution of calcium and oxalate in man and to examine a possible relationship between calcium and oxalate concentrations in the renal tissue and stone formation. Fresh human renal tissue was obtained at operation from 7 subjects. The calcium concentrations in the papilla, medulla and cortex were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. A radioenzymatic procedure was used to determine the corresponding oxalate concentrations. Significantly higher concentrations of calcium and oxalate were observed in the papilla compared to the medulla. The medulla, in turn, contained higher concentrations than the cortex. Calcium and oxalate concentrations were 6 and 25 times higher in the normal papilla than in the urine, respectively. The ion product of calcium oxalate concentrations in the human renal tissue have not been investigated, although the frequent finding of calcification in the renal papilla suggests that they may exist. The observed intrarenal calcium and oxalate concentration gradients seem to be a significant mechanism in the pathogenesis of papillary calcification and a strong indication for renal stone formation to start from fixed crystalluric particles in the papilla.