Mesangial cells are specialized cells around blood vessels in the kidneys. The arterial system The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body. ... Jump to: navigation, search Kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ...

Anatomical Location

Mesangial cells are located among the glomerular capillaries within a renal corpuscle. The glomerulus is a capillary bed found surrounded by the Bowmans capsule of the nephron in the vertebrate kidney. ... The word capillary is used to describe any very narrow tube or channel through which a fluid can pass. ... A renal corpuscle is the initial filtering component of a nephron in the kidney. ...

Function

Glomerular capillaries consist of endothelial cells with large fenestrations, and are therefore very permeable ("leaky") for most solutes in blood plasma. Mesangial cells are thought to aid in the regulation of glomerular filtration, perhaps by contractile activity. They are also major contributors to the extracellular matrix in the glomeruli. The endothelium is the layer of thin, flat cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels, forming an interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. ... Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ... Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is the volume of fluid filtered from the renal glomerular capillaries into Bowmans capsule per unit time. ... In biology, extracellular matrix (ECM) is any material part of a tissue that is not part of any cell. ...

Mesangial cells, in combination with the Macula Densa of the Distal Convoluted Tubule and Juxtaglomerular cells of the Afferent Arteriole, form the Juxtaglomerular Apparatus. This apparatus controls blood pressure through the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system.

References

Tortora GJ., & Grabowski SR., Principles of Anatomy and Physiology 10th Ed. John Wiley & Sons

Shannon Armstrong