Department of Pathology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Department of Pathology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Nephrology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Exp Cell Res. 2021 Aug 15;405(2):112712. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2021.112712. Epub 2021 Jun 25.
Parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are epithelial cells in the kidney, surrounding Bowman's space. When activated, PECs increase in cell volume, proliferate, migrate to the glomerular tuft and excrete extracellular matrix. Activated PECs are crucially involved in the formation of sclerotic lesions, seen in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In FSGS, a number of glomeruli show segmental sclerotic lesions. Further disease progression will lead to increasing number of involved glomeruli and gradual destruction of the affected glomeruli. Although the involvement of PECs in FSGS has been acknowledged, little is known about the molecular processes driving PEC activation. To get more insights in this process, accurate in vivo and in vitro models are needed. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a novel conditionally immortalized human PEC (ciPEC) line. We demonstrated that ciPECs are differentiated when grown under growth-restrictive conditions and express important PEC-specific markers, while lacking podocyte and endothelial markers. In addition, ciPECs showed PEC-like morphology and responded to IL-1β treatment. We therefore conclude that we have successfully generated a novel PEC line, which can be used for future studies on the role of PECs in FSGS.
壁细胞（PECs）是肾脏中的上皮细胞，围绕着鲍曼氏囊。当被激活时，PECs 细胞体积增大，增殖，迁移到肾小球丛并分泌细胞外基质。激活的 PECs 对于局灶节段性肾小球硬化症（FSGS）中所见的硬化病变的形成至关重要。在 FSGS 中，许多肾小球显示出节段性硬化病变。进一步的疾病进展将导致受累肾小球数量的增加，并逐渐破坏受影响的肾小球。尽管已经认识到 PECs 在 FSGS 中的参与，但对于驱动 PEC 激活的分子过程知之甚少。为了更深入地了解这一过程，需要准确的体内和体外模型。在这里，我们描述了一种新型条件永生化人 PEC（ciPEC）系的开发和表征。我们证明，当在生长受限的条件下生长时，ciPECs 会分化，并表达重要的 PEC 特异性标志物，而缺乏足细胞和内皮细胞标志物。此外，ciPECs 表现出 PEC 样形态，并对 IL-1β 治疗有反应。因此，我们得出结论，我们已经成功地生成了一种新型的 PEC 系，可用于研究 PECs 在 FSGS 中的作用的未来研究。
