FIGURE 3:

Podocyte IRE1α deletion results in ultrastructural changes in podocytes. (A–C) Representative electron micrographs from 9-mo-old IRE1α^flox/flox;+ (M +) and IRE1α^{flox/flox;Cre} (M Cre) mice. (A) At low power, glomerular capillaries appear markedly dilated in M Cre mice (CL, capillary lumen). (B) Glomerular capillary walls from 2 M + and 2 M Cre mice reveal widened and effaced podocyte foot processes in the M Cre mice (Ψ). (C) M + and M Cre podocyte (P) cell bodies. M + mice displayed evidence of active autophagy, that is, autophagosomes or autolysosomes (AL). Lysosomes (L) were present in M Cre and M + mice. M Cre podocytes show focal foot process widening (Ψ), occludens junctions (*), and microvillous transformation of the plasma membranes (arrows). (D) Quantification of M Cre focal podocyte foot process widening (*p = 3.9 × 10⁻⁷). Foot processes were measured in 63 lengths of GBM from three M Cre mice and 20 lengths of GBM from two M + mice.