Figure 2.

Loss of Vcl in podocytes results in worsened albuminuria and foot process effacement. Representative light microscopy images of glomeruli from control and Pod-Vcl-KO mice at age 8 weeks, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), periodic acid–Schiff (PAS), and Trichrome (Tri), which reveal no significant differences (bar = 20 μm; a). Representative images of control (Ctrl) and Pod-Vcl-KO mice at age 8 weeks after nephrotoxic serum (NTS) injection at 7 days and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment after 24 hours (bar = 20 μm; b). Transmission electron micrographs revealing foot process effacement in Ctrl and Pod-Vcl-KO mice after LPS treatment (24 hours) and NTS injection (7 days) (bar = 150 nm; c). Quantification of (b); mesangial expansion was assessed with a score from 0 to 4, with 0 representing no detectable mesanigal expansion, and 4 being severe, by blinded pathologist. A total of 15–20 glomeruli were analyzed from n = 4 mice; *P < 0.01 (d). Quantification of (c), the number of foot processes per micrometer of glomerular basement membrane in the Ctrl and Pod-Vcl-KO mice after NTS or LPS injection. N = 3 mice were used at each time point. *P < 0.001 (e). Quantification of urinary albumin normalized to creatinine at 0, 1, 7, 14, and 28 days after NTS. N = 10 mice at each time point; *P < 0.001. Error bars show SEM (f). Quantification of urinary albumin normalized to creatinine at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after LPS treatment. N = 10 mice at each time point; *P < 0.001. Error bars show SEM (g). To optimize viewing of this image, please see the online version of this article at www.kidney-international.org.