Isoelectric point of albumin: Effect on renal handling of albumin

Abstract

In this study the authors examine albumin, the most abundant protein in the plasma, the protein playing the major role in oncotic pressure maintenance, and whose concentration in plasma is 40 mg/ml and in urine is 10 mg/ml or less. They have shown previously that normal human albumin is handled by the rat kidney in a manner no different from that of endogenous rat ablumin. The present study was designed to examine the effect of change in isoelectric point on renal handling of the albumin molecule. Normal human albumin and two derivatives of human albumin with higher isoelectric points were infused into rats under conditions in which the renal handling of these tracer molecules could be examined, while the renal handling of endogenous rat albumin served as control.