title: Decreasing podocyte number during human kidney intrauterine development.
abstract: Nephron number at birth has relevant clinical importance with implications for long-term renal health. In recent years, the podocyte depletion hypothesis has emerged as an important concept in kidney pathology. This study was aimed at verifying whether human podocyte number changes significantly during intrauterine life. To this end, 62 subjects with gestational ages ranging from 20 to 41 wk were examined. Kidney sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and digitally scanned at ×400 magnification. Subjects were subdivided into fetuses (gestational age≤24 wk, n=5), preterms (gestational age≥25 and ≤36 wk, n=39), and full-term newborns (gestational age≥37 wk, n=18). The average podocyte number of 1,908±645, 1,394±498, and 1,126±256 was, respectively, observed in fetuses, preterms, and full-term newborns. A significant main effect (P=0.0051) of gestational age on podocyte number was observed with a significantly lower number in full-term newborns than in fetuses (P<0.01). Intragroup variability was also observed. We speculate that variations in podocyte number could be correlated with factors such as drugs and maternal diet occurring during intrauterine life. In conclusion, this study shows, for the first time, a decreasing trend in podocyte number during gestation.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; alessandra.crobe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crobe
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desogus
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fraschini
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gerosa
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fanni
authors.affiliation: NICU, Neonatal Pathology, Puericulture Institute and Neonatal Section, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; and.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fanos
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Eyken
authors.affiliation: Section of Pathology, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Faa
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007668:Kidney / Q000196:embryology*; D008297:Male; D050199:Podocytes / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: development; fetal programming; human kidney; podocytes; podocytopathies