Figure 5.

Tracking PECs in juvenile PEC-rtTA/H2B-eGFP mice. (A) Mice were induced with doxycycline 3 and 4 days after birth and analyzed 8 days or 6 weeks after birth (arrows). (B–C″) Immunofluorescent costainings for (B′ and C′) eGFP and (B and C) WT-1 of paraffin sections of 8-day-old PEC-rtTA/H2B-eGFP mice confirm labeling of PECs and absence of labeling in podocytes. At the vascular pole, WT-1–positive cells are also labeled (arrows). Original magnification, ×400. (D–E″) At 6 weeks, eGFP–labeled cells can be found along the hilus of the glomerular tuft and also, within the periphery of the glomeruli (arrows). Coexpression of WT-1 and location on the glomerular tuft suggests that these eGFP-positive cells are fully differentiated podocytes. Arrowheads mark labeled cells that have migrated onto the tuft but did not fully differentiate into podocytes (WT-1–negative and eGFP-positive). Nuclei counterstaining with Hoechst. Original magnification, ×400.