Question

1. What is vasopressin? What does it do?

2. What does ADH stand for?

3. How is blood pressure related to the kidneys?

Answer 1

1. It is a hormone secreted by poster pituitary. It helps conserve water by the body, reduce blood osmolarity and increases blood pressure. It causes constriction of blood vessels thus earning the name vasopressin.  It also causes an increase in the water permeability and reabsorption in the distal convoluted tubule and collecting duct of nephron through aquaporins. This helps increase blood volume which causes increase in blood pressure, reduction of blood osmolarity and prevent water loss from urine.

2. ADH stands for Anti Diuretic Hormone. The vasopressin is an ADH. It causes anti diuresis by kidneys.

3. Kidneys are the organs which help in the regulation of blood pressure. The nephrons have juxtra glomerular (JG) cells and macula densa cells. The juxtra glomerular cells are pressure sensors. If they sense low pressure of blood in the arteriole, they release enzyme rennin and activate Rennin angiotensin aldosterone (RAAS) pathway. This pathway causes increase in blood pressure by vasoconstriction, ADH release and aldosterone release. Aldosterone increases sodium and salt retention. The macula densa cells are chemo sensitive receptors present in distal convoluted tubule. If they sense reduction in osmolarity, they stimulate juxtra glomerular cells to release rennin and dilation of afferent arteriole. All these causes corrects the blood pressure to normal when it’s altered.

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