Comparison of the activities of some dehydrogenases in the juxtaglomerular complex of kidneys of Wistar rats and desert rats (Meriones unguiculati).

The authors compared the enzyme histochemical activities of some dehydrogenases in the macula densa, the Goormaghtigh cells and the epithelioid (or juxtaglomerular cells in the kidneys of desert rodents (Mongolian Gerbils) with those of the Wistar rats. The macula cells (Table 1), which in the Wistar rats are clearly distinct from the non specific epithelial cells of the distal convolution, show, in the desert rats, noticeable fluctuations. Their enzyme histochemical reactions are often weaker than those of the distal convolution cells, with the exception of the NAD-tetrazolium-reductase activity. The Goormaghtigh cells (Table 2) in the kidneys of the Meriones have a much larger enzymatic spectrum than in the Wistar rats. Here also, we find functional variations in the examined desert species. In the epithelioid cells (Table 3) we observed a somewhat weaker enzymatic activity in the Meriones. These cells contain no secretion granules, this making their diagnosis difficult.