37 Background/Aims: Steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome is a severe hereditary disease often caused 38 by mutations in the NPHS2 gene. This gene encodes the lipid binding protein podocin which localizes 39 to the slit diaphragm of podocytes and is essential for the maintenance of an intact glomerular 40 filtration barrier. Podocin is a hairpin-like membrane-associated protein that multimerizes...

This study aims to investigate the effects and mechanisms of simvastatin on podocyte injuries in diabetic rats. Streptozotocin was used to induce diabetes in a rat model. Three groups were tested: normal control (NC) group, diabetes mellitus control (DM) group, and simvastatin (SVT) group. The serum creatinine, cholesterol, and urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) were measured 4 to 8 weeks af...

BACKGROUND Dysfunction of mitochondria is involved in podocyte injury in some kidney diseases, but the relationship between abnormal mitochondrial morphology and podocyte injury as well as the underlying mechanism is still unclear. This study aims to investigate dynamic changes of mitochondrial morphology and the potential molecular events in an adriamycin (ADR)-induced podocyte injury model. ...

BACKGROUND Steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome is a severe hereditary disease often caused by mutations in the NPHS2 gene. This gene encodes the lipid binding protein podocin which localizes to the slit diaphragm of podocytes and is essential for the maintenance of an intact glomerular filtration barrier. Podocin is a hairpin-like membrane-associated protein that multimerizes to recruit lipids...

BACKGROUND/AIMS We previously reported that increase in plasma homocysteine (Hcys) levels by a 6-week methionine treatment produced remarkable glomerular injury. However, the mechanism by which hyperhomocysteinemia (hHcys) produces glomerular injury remains unknown. The present study was to observe when glomerular injury happens during hHcys and to explore the possible role of podocyte injury i...

Gene array-type experiments have identified large numbers of genes thought to be important for the integrity of the glomerular slit diaphragm. Confirmation of individual proteins has been limited by the expenses and time involved in generating transgenic or knockout mice for each candidate. We present a functional screening assay based on the clearance of a 70-kDa fluorescent dextran in another...

Mutant forms of TRPC6 can activate NFAT-dependent transcription in vitro via calcium influx and activation of calcineurin. The same TRPC6 mutants can cause FSGS, but whether this involves an NFAT-dependent mechanism is unknown. Here, we generated mice that allow conditional induction of NFATc1. Mice with NFAT activation in nascent podocytes in utero developed proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis ...

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a clinicopathological entity that manifests with severe proteinuria and/or nephrotic syndrome. FSGS is considered to represent a pattern of glomerular scarring, rather than a specific disease entity. The histological hallmark of FSGS is characterized by sclerosis that involves some, but not all, glomeruli and the affected glomeruli typically show inv...