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Published on: March 28, 2025
578
Primary cilium disappearance in podocytes during vertebrate phylogeny revealed by array tomography
Takayuki Miyaki1, Jingyuan Xu1, Makoto Sugiura1
1Department of Anatomy and Life Structure, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan.
Cell and Tissue Research
|August 28, 2025
Summary
Primary cilia are present in podocytes of many vertebrates but decrease with evolution and development. This study investigated primary cilia in podocytes across six species, finding their presence diminishes in mature cells.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Cell Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Podocytes are crucial for kidney ultrafiltration.
- Primary cilia are vital for nephron architecture.
- The presence of primary cilia in podocytes was previously unclear due to technical limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the presence and proportion of primary cilia in mature podocytes across six vertebrate species.
- To investigate the evolutionary and developmental trends of primary cilia in podocytes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a specialized array tomography workflow for whole glomerulus analysis.
- Examined mature podocytes from river lampreys, zebrafish, African clawed frogs, Reeves' turtles, common quails, and Wistar rats.
Main Results:
- The proportion of podocytes with primary cilia decreased across species: 89.6% (lampreys) to 0.0% (rats).
- Primary cilia were found to be present in developing rat podocytes but absent in mature ones.
- A trend of primary cilia disappearance from podocytes during both evolution and development was observed.
Conclusions:
- Primary cilia are lost from podocytes during vertebrate evolution and development.
- Further research is needed to understand the triggers and significance of this phenomenon.
