Kidney function—the capacity of the kidneys to filter the blood—maintains homeostasis of water, electrolytes, pH and metabolic waste in vertebrates 1. Chronic kidney disease, defined by persistent ...

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered a previously unknown process used by epithelial cells to alleviate epithelial tissue crowding and avoid cell damage and loss, according to a recent ...

The alveolar epithelium plays a pivotal role in lung homeostasis and protects the lung from inhaled environmental insults and pathogenic infections. In the alveolus, alveolar type 2 cells (AT2 cells) ...

It has long been thought that only nerve and heart cells use electric impulses to communicate, while epithelial cells -- which compose the linings of our skin, organs and body cavities -- are mute, ...

Among the body's most crucial protective features are the brain barrier systems, including the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barriers. These barriers are made of highly specialized ...