The role of the podocyte in glomerulosclerosis

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is a pathological hallmark of many forms of progressive renal disease. The 'classic' lesion, based on the adhesion of the capillary tuft to Bowman's capsule, results from the loss of podocyt es from the capillary basement membrane. The recently described 'collapsing ' variant, in contrast, has an apparent excess of extracapillary cells, whi ch may represent dedifferentiated, 'dysregulated' podocytes. Curr Opin Neph rol Hypertens 8:489-497. (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.