Figure 2.

Migration and differentiation of tdTomato⁺PECs to a podocyte phenotype in aged kidneys. (A–F) Representative confocal images of tdTomato-labeled PECs (red), EGFP⁺ labeled podocytes (green), and DAPI stained nuclei (blue) in young, middle age and aged mice in OC (A–C) and JMC (D–F). Individual red (labeled with superscript-1), green (superscript-2) and far-red (superscript-3) fluorescent channels of the glomerulus, outlined by the white dashed box. (A) Young mice (OC) showed that tdTomato⁺PECs are detected along Bowman’s capsule (A¹) and EGFP⁺ cells (A²) localized in typical podocyte distribution. Nuclei were labeled with DAPI (A³). (B) Middle age mice (OC) showed that tdTomato⁺PECs (marked with solid arrow) were detected in the glomerular tuft (B¹) with accompanied decrease in the EGFP signal (B²) and the nuclear marker DAPI (B³). (C) Aged mice (OC) showed that tdTomato⁺PECs (marked with dashed arrow) (C¹) differentiated to a podocyte fate and co-expresses EGFP (green) (C²), overlap creates a yellow. (D) Young mice (JMC) showed that tdTomato⁺PECs are detected along Bowman’s capsule (D¹) and EGFP⁺ podocytes are observed in the glomerular tuft (D²). (E) Middle age mice (JMC) showed that tdTomato⁺PECs (marked with solid arrow) are observed in the glomerular tuft (E¹) with no overlap with EGFP (E²). (F) Aged mice (JMC) showed that tdTomato⁺PECs (marked with dashed arrow) (F¹) overlap with EGFP (F²) and create a yellow color in the glomerular tuft. Scale bars represent 25μm or 5μm (insets).