title: A slit in podocyte death.
abstract: Recent advances have identified the podocyte as a key target in glomerular injury. The podocyte is a highly specialized cell which is responsible for the glomerular permselectivity for proteins in the kidney. Podocyte injury or loss leads to proteinuria. Apoptosis has been shown to contribute to renal cell loss, including loss of podocytes. The most striking feature of the podocyte is its ability to form intricate specialized cell junctions, the slit diaphragm. Slit diaphragm proteins play an important role in podocyte biology, protein permselectivity, cell signalling and disease. This review focuses on recent advances on the understanding of podocyte survival regulation, its relationship to slit diaphragm structure and function, and how this knowledge may affect our therapeutic approach to proteinuric kidney disease.
authors.affiliation: Renal and Vascular Research Laboratory, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, de Madrid and IRSIN, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Maria Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Niño
authors.forename: Ana Belen
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lassila
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holthofer
authors.forename: Luis Miguel
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Blanco-Colio
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Egido
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Ortega
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry; D050199:Podocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations