Collaborative Research: Comparative Study of Desert and Non-desert Rodent Kidneys

这个项目的目标是结合实验和数学建模技术来研究慕尼黑-Wistar大鼠和袋鼠肾脏的肾脏转运和动力学方面的问题。在许多啮齿动物肾脏中，肾盆壁发生蠕动收缩，导致团状物顺着乳头集合管流动。该项目将使用免疫组织化学和视频显微镜技术来研究蠕动收缩对骨髓结构和最大尿液浓度的影响。盆壁蠕动产生复杂的流体动力学，并可能对Henle环、集合管和血管中的水和溶质运输产生重大影响。因此，将建立数学模型来模拟在面对蠕动波时，集合管上皮和移动的推进器之间的相互作用如何改变管状液的组成。流体-结构相互作用将被建模为浸没边界问题，并将开发一种精确的轴对称柱坐标的数值方法。本项目将使用数学分析和计算技术来回答肾脏生理学中的一些基本和重要的问题：肾乳头的蠕动收缩如何影响肾脏的浓缩机制？袋鼠和实验室大鼠之间的解剖学差异是如何导致袋鼠产生尿液浓度加倍的能力的？这些问题的答案对于全面了解肾功能至关重要。

The goal of this project is to combine experimental and mathematical modeling techniques to investigate aspects of the renal transport and dynamics in the Munich-Wistar rat and kangaroo rat kidneys. In many rodent kidneys, the renal pelvic walls undergo peristaltic contractions, which cause bolus flow down the papillary collecting duct. The project will use immunohistochemical and videomicroscopy techniques to investigate the impacts of peristaltic contractions on medullary architecture and maximal urine concentration. Pelvic wall peristalsis generates complex fluid dynamics and likely has a substantial impact on water and solute transport in the loops of Henle, collecting ducts and blood vessels. Thus, mathematical models will be developed to simulate how the interactions between the collecting duct epithelium and the traveling bolus change tubular fluid composition in the face of peristaltic waves. The fluid-structure interactions will be modeled as an immersed boundary problem, and an accurate numerical method will be developed for the axissymmetric cylindrical coordinates.This project will use mathematical analysis and computational techniques to answer a number of basic and important questions in renal physiology: How do the peristaltic contractions of the renal papilla impact the concentrating mechanism of the kidney? How do the anatomic differences between the kangaroo rat and the laboratory rat lead to the ability of the kangaroo rat to produce urine that is twice as concentrated? The answers to those questions are crucial in gaining an overall understanding of kidney functions.