Each kidney contains over one million microscopic filtering units called nephrons. Each nephron is made of a tubule and is responsible for 'cleaning' the blood by removing urea and excess water ...

Genetic studies performed in humans and mutant mice have implicated a number of critical genes, in utero environmental factors and molecular mechanisms that regulate nephron endowment and kidney size.

Rodent ClC-K1 and ClC-K2, and their respective human orthologs ClCKA and ClCKB, are chloride channels specific to the kidney (and inner ... broadly in the distal nephron; expression levels are ...