肾小球足细胞功能认识的进展

Advance of Podocyte Function in Glomerular

足细胞是肾小球高度分化的细胞类型,是肾小球滤过屏障的重要组成部分。假定足细胞的足突能抵消肾小球基底膜的弹力作用,而血管激素可能调节足突的收缩状态,从而调节肾小球的超滤系数Kf。足细胞损伤可导致蛋白尿的发生,而许多伴有足细胞损伤的肾小球疾病,可能进展为慢性肾衰竭。通过了解调节足细胞的生理特性及其细胞的损伤反应机制可进一步了解蛋白尿及肾小球疾病的发病机制。过去由于足细胞独特的解剖学位置以及足细胞难以通过细胞培养区分,很难发现足细胞的功能。然而,近年来由于生理学、分子生物学及细胞培养技术的进步,使人们更多地了解足细胞在维持肾小球功能中发挥的作用。

The podocyte is the most differentiated cells in the glomerulum,which forms a crucial component of the glomerular filtration barrier.It has been assumed that podocyte foot processes counteract the elastic force of the glomerular basement membrane and that vasoactive hormones may regulate the contractile state of their foot processes and thereby modulate the ultrafiltration coefficient Kf.podocyte damage leads to proteinuria,and podocyte injury occurs in many glomerular diseases,which may progress to chronic renal failure.The understanding of the regulation of physiological properties of the podocyte and the mechanisms of its cellular response to injury may thus provide a clue to the understanding of the pathogenesis of proteinuria and glomerular diseases.In the past it was difficult to study cellular functions in this cell type,because of its unique anatomic location and the difficulty in characterizing podocytes in cell culture.However,recent advances in physiological,molecular biological,and cell culture techniques have increased the knowledge of the role of the podocyte in glomerular function.