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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

An Efficient Sieving Method to Isolate Intact Glomeruli from Adult Rat Kidney
Published on: November 1, 2018
Polygonal epithelial cells in glomerular cell culture: Podocyte or parietal epithelial origin?
Eishin Yaoita1, Yutaka Yoshida
1Department of Structural Pathology, Institute of Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine, Niigata University, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Abstract:
Podocytes are unique cells with regard to morphology, their inability to proliferate in situ, and their apparent essential function for glomerular filtration and permselectivity. Upon transfer into culture conditions, polygonal epithelial cells grow out from isolated glomeruli and these cells have been postulated to represent dedifferentiated podocytes, even though they are negative for podocyte-specific markers and undergo cell division. However, it is controversial whether they originate from podocytes or parietal epithelial cells (PECs) of Bowman's capsule, because isolated glomeruli contain more or less Bowman's capsule. In this review, we shall summarize recent progress in the identification of the origin of the polygonal cells and the characterization of podocytes in culture.
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