THE EXCRETION RATE OF TAMM‐HORSFALL URINARY MUCOPROTEIN IN NORMALS AND IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL DISEASE

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary: The excretion rate of Tamm‐Horsfall urinary mucoprotein was estimated in 15 normal subjects and in 28 patients with renal disease. The method used for estimation was appraised and possible corrections for incomplete precipitation were formulated.Amongst normal subjects, the mean excretion rate of Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein was 1·83 mg. per hour per 1·73 sq. m. of body surface. “Corrected” to allow for loss by incomplete precipitation, the figure was 1·94 mg. per hour per 1·73 sq. m. There was no significant difference in excretion rates between males and females.In patients with renal disease, a correlation was observed between overall renal function, as assessed on the basis of creatinine clearance, and rate of Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein excretion.No evidence was observed in this series of relative increase in Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein excretion rate in pyelonephritis or in other conditions in which proteinuria was not a feature.Patients with gross proteinuria had at times a relatively high rate of excretion of Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein. In five nephrotic patients, variations in excretion rate of Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein, which was at times considerably raised above normal, were found to occur over a period of months, and these corresponded to variations in excretion rate of total protein. Experiments designed to increase the rate of excretion of serum proteins by increasing the filtered load gave inconclusive results with regard to their effect on Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein excretion.The possibility that agglutination of Tamm‐Horsfall mucoprotein with cast formation causes under certain circumstances intrarenal nephron obstruction is discussed.