Salt in the body: a newly discovered pathway of handling sodium

Hormann, F. M. (2015) Salt in the body: a newly discovered pathway of handling sodium. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

For this bachelor thesis, a literature study has been performed. Salt has had huge influences on humankind, but modern intake rates unfortunately have some adverse effects. Sodium as well as chloride are important electrolytes for the body. This thesis focuses on sodium. Sodium enters the body through the diet and is mostly excreted through the urine. There are a lot of hormones responsible for the maintenance of the sodium contents of the body. These act on different signals, where the change of sodium contents sometimes is merely an effect instead of the main goal. For a long time, high intake of salt was associated with the retention of water. However, Titze et al proved that this was not the only way that the body handles sodium levels. They found that the body is capable of storing the sodium in an osmotically inactive way. This is done with proteoglycans, negatively charged molecules in the extracellular matrix. To be able to store the salt, new proteoglycans are synthesized and the sulphation patterns change. The osmotically inactive sodium storage is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases, but it also functions as a microbial barrier and prevents increase in blood pressure. Salt sensitive people are less capable of this kind of sodium storage compared to salt resistant people. The mechanisms of osmotically inactive sodium storage are partially understood, as well as what happens to chloride during this storage. When the mechanisms will be fully understood, this could have great clinical implications in for example the treatment of hypertension or autoimmune diseases.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 08:04
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 08:04
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/12787

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