Biomaterial Database

Podocyte biology in human disease. 2005

Janak Rashme de Zoysa, and Peter Stewart Topham

Department of Renal Medicine, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. janakz@adhb.govt.nz

The podocyte is a highly specialized cell that plays a key role in regulating the glomerular filtration barrier. A number of advances have been made in recent years, linked to the discovery of single-gene defects in hereditary glomerular disease, which highlight the role of this cell in preventing proteinuria. This article reviews the molecular biology of the podocyte, focusing on known genetic abnormalities.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007674	Kidney Diseases	Pathological processes of the KIDNEY or its component tissues.	Disease, Kidney,Diseases, Kidney,Kidney Disease
D007678	Kidney Glomerulus	A cluster of convoluted capillaries beginning at each nephric tubule in the kidney and held together by connective tissue.	Glomerulus, Kidney
D009024	Morphogenesis	The development of anatomical structures to create the form of a single- or multi-cell organism. Morphogenesis provides form changes of a part, parts, or the whole organism.
D002453	Cell Cycle	The complex series of phenomena, occurring between the end of one CELL DIVISION and the end of the next, by which cellular material is duplicated and then divided between two daughter cells. The cell cycle includes INTERPHASE, which includes G0 PHASE; G1 PHASE; S PHASE; and G2 PHASE, and CELL DIVISION PHASE.	Cell Division Cycle,Cell Cycles,Cell Division Cycles,Cycle, Cell,Cycle, Cell Division,Cycles, Cell,Cycles, Cell Division,Division Cycle, Cell,Division Cycles, Cell
D003599	Cytoskeleton	The network of filaments, tubules, and interconnecting filamentous bridges which give shape, structure, and organization to the cytoplasm.	Cytoplasmic Filaments,Cytoskeletal Filaments,Microtrabecular Lattice,Cytoplasmic Filament,Cytoskeletal Filament,Cytoskeletons,Filament, Cytoplasmic,Filament, Cytoskeletal,Filaments, Cytoplasmic,Filaments, Cytoskeletal,Lattice, Microtrabecular,Lattices, Microtrabecular,Microtrabecular Lattices
D005374	Filtration	A process of separating particulate matter from a fluid, such as air or a liquid, by passing the fluid carrier through a medium that will not pass the particulates. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Filtrations
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D042461	Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A	The original member of the family of endothelial cell growth factors referred to as VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTORS. Vascular endothelial growth factor-A was originally isolated from tumor cells and referred to as "tumor angiogenesis factor" and "vascular permeability factor". Although expressed at high levels in certain tumor-derived cells it is produced by a wide variety of cell types. In addition to stimulating vascular growth and vascular permeability it may play a role in stimulating VASODILATION via NITRIC OXIDE-dependent pathways. Alternative splicing of the mRNA for vascular endothelial growth factor A results in several isoforms of the protein being produced.	Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor,Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A,GD-VEGF,Glioma-Derived Vascular Endothelial Cell Growth Factor,VEGF,VEGF-A,Vascular Permeability Factor,Vasculotropin,Glioma Derived Vascular Endothelial Cell Growth Factor,Permeability Factor, Vascular
D050199	Podocytes	Highly differentiated epithelial cells of the visceral layer of BOWMAN CAPSULE of the KIDNEY. They are composed of a cell body with major CELL SURFACE EXTENSIONS and secondary fingerlike extensions called pedicels. They enwrap the KIDNEY GLOMERULUS capillaries with their cell surface extensions forming a filtration structure. The pedicels of neighboring podocytes interdigitate with each other leaving between them filtration slits that are bridged by an extracellular structure impermeable to large macromolecules called the slit diaphragm, and provide the last barrier to protein loss in the KIDNEY.	Visceral Epithelial Cells, Glomerular,Epithelial Cells, Glomerular Visceral,Glomerular Visceral Epithelial Cells,Podocyte