Morel F
Bull Mem Acad R Med Belg. 1996;151(2):221-8.
Among the numerous "signals" which may alter the functional state of renal epithelial cells, it appears convenient to distinguish two categories: under physiological conditions, on the one hand, "hormones" control the rate of specific transport across their respective kidney target cells. In order to under-stand how such cellular effects of hormones may contribute to maintain body fluid homeostasis, it is necessary to determine where and how each of them modifies the tubular fluid composition along the successive portions of the whole nephron; under pathological conditions or during kidney ontogenesis, on the other hand, a variety of "factors" present in the close environment induce, in kidney cells, functional programmes which favor either survival, growth, or division.
在众多可能改变肾上皮细胞功能状态的“信号”中，区分出两类似乎较为便捷：一方面，在生理条件下，“激素”控制特定物质跨各自肾脏靶细胞的转运速率。为了理解激素的这种细胞效应如何有助于维持体液稳态，有必要确定每种激素在整个肾单位的连续部分中何处以及如何改变肾小管液的成分；另一方面，在病理条件下或肾脏发育过程中，紧邻环境中存在的多种“因子”在肾细胞中诱导有利于存活、生长或分裂的功能程序。
