Structural and molecular dissection of the juxtaglomerular apparatus: new aspects for the role of nitric oxide.

The juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA) is composed of the macula densa (MD), the extraglomerular mesangium, and the juxtaglomerular arterioles. The JGA functions to adapt glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to distal tubular [NaCl] and to adjust the synthesis and release of renin. The type 1 isoform of nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) is present in MD cells, and release of NO toward the glomerular vasculature is thought to modulate signaling at the JGA. Chronic alterations in GFR and/or tubular [NaCl] are paralleled by adjustments of NOS1. Molecular characterization of NOS1 mRNA reveals several renal variants suggesting cell type-specific regulation at the level of transcription and translation.