Electrophysiology of renal capillary membranes: gel concept applied and Starling model challenged

In the classical Starling model the hydrostatic pressure in the pores is generally lower than that in capillary plasma, a phenomenon that necessitates the assumption of a rigid porous membrane. In flexible gel membranes, the capillary pressure is suggested to be balanced by a gel swelling pressure generated by negative fixed charges. Regarding the fluid transfer, the transmembranous electrical potential gradient will generate a net driving electroosmotic force. This force will be numerically similar to the net driving Starling force in small pores, but distinctly different in large pores. From previous data on the hydrostatic and colloid osmotic forces, the fixed charge density at the two interfaces of 1) the glomerular and 2) the peritubular capillary membrane were calculated and used to predict the flux of a series of charged protein probes. The close fit to the experimental data in both the capillary beds is in line with the gel concept presented. The gel concept (but hardly a rigid membrane) explains the ability of capillary membranes to alter their permeability in response to external forces. Gel membranes can furthermore be predicted to have a self-rinsing ability, as entrapped proteins will increase the local fixed charge density, leading to fluid entry into the region between the particle and the pore rim, which by consequent widening of the channel will facilitate extrusion of trapped proteins.