The goal of this Planning Grant is to investigate the mechanisms by which the cells of the kidney move organic electrolytes from the blood into the excreted urine. This is an important mechanism involving the expenditure of cellular energy to move these substances but a mechanism that is poorly understood at the present time. The long-term objective of this research, therefore, is to understand this process at the molecular level. To this end, the present project will involve the development of new methods for the study of intact kidney tubules and of surface membranes of the cells lining these tubules. The transport process occurs across these membranes. Once these methods are successfully in use, the applicant will then be in position to submit a full Minority Research Initiation proposal that addresses the mechanisms involved in the transport of these organic substances.
