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Updated: May 23, 2026

Estimation of Urinary Nanocrystals in Humans using Calcium Fluorophore Labeling and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis
Published on: February 9, 2021
Pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis: recent insight from cell biology and renal pathology
Giovanni Gambaro1, Antonia Fabris, Cataldo Abaterusso
1Division of Nephrology, Dept. of Biomedical and Surgical Sciences, University of Verona.
Abstract:
Randall's plaques are very common in idiopathic calcium-oxalate nephrolithiasis. These papillary plaques have an apatite mineral structure. While these calcium deposits are generally assumed to be secondary to a purely physico-chemical phenomenon, we advance the hypothesis that they form due to a truly ectopic biomineralization in the renal tissue, and that Henle's loop epithelial cells, or pericyte-like interstitial cells, or papillary stem cells differentiating along a bone lineage might be involved.
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