Re-characterization of the Glomerulopathy in CD2AP Deficient Mice by High-Resolution Helium Ion Scanning Microscopy

Helium ion scanning microscopy (HIM) is a novel technology that directly visualizes the cell surface ultrastructure without surface coating. Despite its very high resolution, it has not been applied extensively to study biological or pathology samples. Here we report the application of this powerful technology to examine the three-dimensional ultrastructural characteristics of proteinuric glomerulopathy in mice with CD2-associated protein (CD2AP) deficiency. HIM revealed the serial alteration of glomerular features including effacement and disorganization of the slit diaphragm, followed by foot process disappearance, flattening and fusion of major processes, and eventual transformation into a podocyte sheet as the disease progressed. The number and size of the filtration slit pores decreased. Strikingly, numerous "bleb" shaped microprojections were observed extending from podocyte processes and cell body, indicating significant membrane dynamics accompanying CD2AP deficiency. Visualizing the glomerular endothelium and podocyte-endothelium interface revealed the presence of endothelial damage, and disrupted podocyte and endothelial integrity in 6 week-old Cd2ap-KO mice. We used the HIM technology to investigate at nanometer scale resolution the ultrastructural alterations of the glomerular filtration apparatus in mice lacking the critical slit diaphragm-associated protein CD2AP, highlighting the great potential of HIM to provide new insights into the biology and (patho)physiology of glomerular diseases.