Visualization of podocyte substructure with structured illumination microscopy (SIM) : a new approach to nephrotic disease
Abstract
A detailed microscopic analysis of renal podocyte substructure is essential to understand and diagnose nephrotic kidney disease. Currently only time consuming electron microscopy (EM) can resolve this substructure. We used structured illumination microscopy (SIM) to examine frozen sections of renal biopsies stained with an immunofluorescence marker for podocin, a protein localized to the perimeter of the podocyte foot processes and compared them with EM in both normal and nephrotic disease biopsies. SIM images of normal glomeruli revealed curvilinear patterns of podocin densely covering capillary walls similar to podocyte foot processes seen by EM. Podocin staining of all nephrotic disease biopsies were significantly different than normal, corresponding to and better visualizing effaced foot processes seen by EM. The findings support the first potential use of SIM in the diagnosis of nephrotic disease.
Citation
Pullman , J , Nylk , J , Campbell , E C , Gunn-Moore , F J , Prystowsky , M B & Dholakia , K 2016 , ' Visualization of podocyte substructure with structured illumination microscopy (SIM) : a new approach to nephrotic disease ' , Biomedical Optics Express , vol. 7 , no. 2 , pp. 302-311 . https://doi.org/10.1364/BOE.7.000302
Publication
Biomedical Optics Express
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2156-7085Type
Journal article
Description
We thank the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant EP/J0177X/1, the RS Macdonald Charitable Trust, the BRAINS 600th anniversary appeal, and Dr. Killick for funding. KD acknowledges the award of a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Fellowship.Collections
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