Chemokines and their receptors play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, their expression pattern and function in glomerular podocytes have not been investigated as of yet. In the present study, we investigated whether CXCR3 could protect podocytes from high glucoseinduced apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine production and explored the p...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) on podocyte adhesion and the underlying mechanisms. Immortalized mouse podocytes were exposed to various conditions and podocyte adhesion was evaluated using a hexosaminidase assay. The expression levels of integrin-linked kinase (ILK) were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and...

Transient receptor potential cation channel 6 (TRPC6) is a nonselective cation channel, and abnormal expression and gain of function of TRPC6 are involved in the pathogenesis of hereditary and nonhereditary forms of renal disease. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases remain poorly understood, recent investigations revealed that many signaling pathways are involved in regu...

Podocyte loss plays a key role in the progression of glomerular disorders towards glomerulosclerosis and chronic kidney disease. Podocytes form unique cytoplasmic extensions, foot processes, which attach to the outer surface of the glomerular basement membrane and interdigitate with neighboring podocytes to form the slit diaphragm. Maintaining these sophisticated structural elements requires an...

Together with mesangial cells, glomerular endothelial cells and the basement membrane, podocytes constitute the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB) of the kidney. Podocytes play a pivotal role in the progression of various kidney-related diseases such as glomerular sclerosis and glomerulonephritis that finally lead to chronic end-stage renal disease. During podocytopathies, the slit-diaphragm c...

Although parietal podocytes along the Bowman's capsule have been described by electron microscopy in the normal human kidney, their molecular composition remains unknown. Ten human normal kidneys that were removed for cancer were assessed for the presence and the extent of parietal podocytes along the Bowman's capsule. The expression of podocyte-specific proteins (podocalyxin, glomerular epithe...

Dobrinskikh E, Okamura K, Kopp JB, Doctor RB, Blaine J. Human podocytes perform polarized, caveolae-dependent albumin endocytosis. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 306: F941–F951, 2014. First published February 26, 2014; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00532.2013.— The renal glomerulus forms a selective filtration barrier that allows the passage of water, ions, and small solutes into the urinary space while res...

Calcium flux in the podocytes is critical for normal and pathophysiological regulation of these types of cells, and excessive calcium signaling results in podocytes damage and improper glomeruli function. Purinergic activation of P2 receptors is a powerful and rapid signaling process; however, the exact physiological identity of P2 receptors subtypes in podocytes remains essentially unknown. Th...

BACKGROUND Recent studies show that mechanical stress modifies both morphology and protein expression in podocytes. Ambient glucose is another factor modulating protein synthesis in these cells. In diabetes, podocytes experience elevated glucose concentrations as well as mechanical strain generated by high intracapillary pressures. Both these factors are responsible for podocyte injury, leading...