The Phagocytic Role of Renal Medullary Interstitial Cells and the Effect of Potassium Deficiency on this Function

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Abstract
Ferritin was injected intravenously into potassium deficient rats and their pair fed controls. The distribution of the ferritin in the kidneys was examined histologically; the amount of ferritin present in the kidneys was determined by chemical analysis of the organs. It was found that by 10 h after injecting ferritin into the potassium deficient rats it had entered the interstitial cells of the outer zone of the medulla; the degree to which this occurred in the control rats was very much less. That the ferritin accumulation in the potassium deficient rat kidneys was much greater than in the control rat kidneys was confirmed by chemical analyses. The accumulation of ferritin and other substances in the interstitial cells is evidence of the phagocytic activity of these cells. The increase in the accumulation of ferritin in the interstitial cells during potassium deficiency may reflect either greater permeability of the vasa recta or an increase in the phagocytic activity of these cells during potassium deficiency.

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