Figure 7.

Vinculin is reduced in human glomerular disease. Panels show localization of nephrin and vinculin in human kidney biopsy sections from patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), minimal change disease (MCD), or membranous nephropathy (MN). The altered localization of vinculin and nephrin is shown in zoomed-in images at the bottom of the panel. In FSGS and MN in particular, there appeared to be less vinculin in capillary loops with positive nephrin staining, compared with regions where nephrin localization was reduced, and here vinculin was increased (yellow boxes). Bar = 20 μm (a). Ratiometric imaging was performed by selecting the nephrin signal as a mask and then relating vinculin to nephrin intensity. Bar = 30 μm (b). Quantification of (b): All histological subtypes were analyzed from n = 3 biopsy samples. *P < 0.001 (c). To optimize viewing of this image, please see the online version of this article at www.kidney-international.org.