title: Association of podocyte autophagosome numbers with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and secondary membranous nephropathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was to investigate the relation between the number of autophagosomes in podocytes and the syndromes of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) and secondary membranous nephropathy (sMN).
  
  
  METHODS
  The pathological changes in the kidney tissues of patients were detected with the hematoxylin and eosin staining, the periodic acid-Schiff reagent treatment, the Masson's trichrome staining and the immunofluorescence detection (IF). Meanwhile, the autophagosomes in podocyte were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and the IF assay pointing to LC3-II, an autophagic marker. Clinical data, including age, sex, edema, serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, hematuria, urine protein excretion and serum albumin, were collected from in-patient medical records. Finally, the association of podocyte autophagosome numbers with idiopathic membranous nephropathy and secondary membranous nephropathy was studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fewer autophagosomes were observed in podocytes of nephropathy group compared with the control group. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the autophagosome number between the two types of MN and each kind of nephropathy demonstrated distinct characteristics. Although the reduced autophagosome number in the IMN cases was not related to sex, this trend was exacerbated along with the progression from pathological stage I to II. In contrast, fewer autophagosomes were observed in class II and V LN patients compared with the controls, while greater numbers were detected in class III and IV LN patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicated that the autophagy participated in the podocyte injury in IMN and sMN and the number of autophagosomes in podocytes was related to the pathological classification.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Zhejiang University Hospital, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huifang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. zhuwenping05@126.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. qianghe1973@126.com.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000071182:Autophagosomes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D001343:Autophagy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015433:Glomerulonephritis, Membranous / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D050199:Podocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: C477012:MAP1LC3A protein, human; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins
keywords: Autophagosome; Idiopathic membranous nephropathy; Podocyte; Secondary membranous nephropathy