Fig. 3.

Specific indirect immunofluorescence characterizes and distinguishes mesangial cells from podocytes. A–I: putative mesangial cells and previously characterized podocytes were grown separately and stained with the same antibodies. CD2AP, podocin, and nephrin staining was abundant in podocytes along the cell border and in the cytoplasm (A, D, and G); these were absent in mesangial cells (B, E, and H). Normal mouse/rabbit IgG were used to rule out nonspecific staining (C, F, and I). These results demonstrate that the mesangial cells grown in culture are distinct from podocytes. Magnification: ×40 in both cell lines.