Figure 1.

Histological characteristics of glomerular development. A–F: Toluidine blue–stained sections from newborn (post-natal day 1) mouse kidneys. A and D: S-shaped body. A capillary loop is present in the cleft. B and E: Capillary loop stage glomeruli showing the cup-shaped arrangement of the podocytes. C and F: Mature glomeruli. The percentage of glomeruli at each developmental stage in control and Lama1^CKO mice. G: Significantly lower percentages of maturing and mature glomeruli are observed in Lama1^CKO kidneys (light gray bars) compared with the controls (dark gray bars). H: There is no significant difference in the number of glomeruli observed in Lama1^CKO versus control kidneys at 2 months of age. Data represent means ± SEM. *P < 0.05 versus control at same glomerular developmental stage. Original magnification, ×1000 (A–F). BC, Bowman’s capsule; CL, capillary loop; GC, glomerular cleft; M, mesangial cells; P, podocyte progenitors.