What is a podocyte What is its function?
Podocytes are cells in Bowman’s capsule in the kidneys that wrap around capillaries of the glomerulus. Podocytes make up the epithelial lining of Bowman’s capsule, the third layer through which filtration of blood takes place.
What are podocytes in glomerulus?
Podocytes are specialized epithelial cells that cover the outer surfaces of glomerular capillaries. Unique cell junctions, known as slit diaphragms, which feature nephrin and Neph family proteins in addition to components of adherens, tight, and gap junctions, connect adjacent podocyte foot processes.
How many podocytes are in the glomerulus?
Although adult human glomeruli contain approximately 600 podocytes each,12,13 adult mouse glomeruli contain only 70–75 podocytes. This difference highlights an important issue: 20% podocyte depletion in humans involves the loss of 120 podocytes but the loss of only 14–15 podocytes for mice.
Are podocytes negatively charged?
Visceral Epithelium (Podocytes). Negatively charged glycoproteins overlying the endothelial cells and the podocytes contribute to the charge differential of the GBM. Foot processes from adjacent visceral epithelium interdigitate to form filtration slits between them (see Fig. 11-6).
What are the foot processes on podocytes histology world?
Pedicels are the foot processes on the podocytes. The juxtaglomerular cells secrete renin. The macula densa are specialized cells in the distal convoluted tubule that are sensitive to sodium. The juxtaglomerular cells and macula densa make up the juxtaglomerular apparatus.
Are podocytes charged?
Visceral Epithelium (Podocytes). Negatively charged glycoproteins overlying the endothelial cells and the podocytes contribute to the charge differential of the GBM.
How are podocyte nuclei distributed through the glomerulus?
Podocyte nuclei are uniformly distributed through the glomerulus. Podocyte nuclear profiles can be unambiguously identified (even small profiles) in single sections. Podocyte nuclei have identical known shapes, random orientations, and known size variation. Section thickness is (much) smaller than the mean caliper diameter () of podocyte nuclei.
What is the function of the podocyte?
Podocytes cover the outer aspect of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). They therefore form the final barrier to protein loss, which explains why podocyte injury is typically associated with marked proteinuria. Chronic podocyte injury may lead to podocyte detachment from the GBM.
How arepodocyte nuclei counted?
Podocyte nuclei are counted with physical disectors (which use pairs of physical sections; Figure 2) or optical disectors (which use optical sections; Figure 3).
What are the different segments of the podocyte?
With respect to their cytoarchitecture, podocytes may be divided into three structurally and functionally different segments: cell body, major processes, and foot processes (FPs).