Department II of Internal Medicine and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Kerpener Strasse 62, 50937 Cologne, Germany.
Nat Rev Nephrol. 2013 Jun;9(6):328-36. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2013.78. Epub 2013 Apr 23.
In the past decade, our understanding of the role of podocytes in the function of the glomerular filtration barrier, and of the role of podocyte injury in the pathogenesis of proteinuric kidney disease, has substantially increased. Landmark genetic studies identified mutations in genes expressed by podocytes as a cause of albuminuria and nephrotic syndrome, leading to breakthrough discoveries from many laboratories. These discoveries contributed to a dramatic change in our view of the glomerular filtration barrier of the kidney and of the role of podocyte injury in the development of albuminuria and progressive kidney disease. In the past several years, studies have demonstrated that podocyte injury is a major cause of marked albuminuria and nephrotic syndrome, and have confirmed that podocytes are important for the maintenance of an intact glomerular filtration barrier. An essential role of loss of these cells in the pathogenesis of glomerulosclerosis and progressive proteinuric kidney disease has also been identified. In this Review, we discuss the importance of podocytes for the maintenance of an intact glomerular filtration barrier and their role in albumin handling.
在过去的十年中，我们对足细胞在肾小球滤过屏障功能中的作用以及足细胞损伤在蛋白尿性肾脏疾病发病机制中的作用的理解有了实质性的提高。具有里程碑意义的遗传研究确定了足细胞表达的基因突变是白蛋白尿和肾病综合征的原因，这为许多实验室带来了突破性的发现。这些发现促成了我们对肾脏肾小球滤过屏障的看法以及足细胞损伤在白蛋白尿和进行性肾脏疾病发展中的作用的重大改变。在过去的几年中，研究表明足细胞损伤是导致大量白蛋白尿和肾病综合征的主要原因，并证实了足细胞对于维持完整的肾小球滤过屏障是重要的。此外，还确定了这些细胞的丢失在肾小球硬化和进行性蛋白尿性肾脏疾病发病机制中的重要作用。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了足细胞对于维持完整的肾小球滤过屏障的重要性及其在白蛋白处理中的作用。
