title: Nck links nephrin to actin in kidney podocytes.
abstract: Two papers, one in Nature (Jones et al., 2006) and the other in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (Verma et al., 2006) show that Nck adaptor proteins connect phosphorylated nephrin with actin polymerization in podocyte foot processes, structures important for slit-diaphragm formation in the kidney. Their results further our understanding of podocyte development and repair in glomerular disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Matrix Biology, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, 171 77 Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. karl.tryggvason@ki.se
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tryggvason
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pikkarainen
authors.forename: Jaakko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patrakka
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D050199:Podocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C078332:Nck protein; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; C113267:nephrin