The filtration barrier is supported by a core of mesangial cells, which resemble smooth muscle cells. Endothelial and podocyte functions are crucial for maintaining the filtration barrier ...

Alterations of mesangial cells have traditionally been the focus of research in deciphering molecular mechanisms of diabetic nephropathy. Injury of podocytes, if recognized at all, has been ...

Although the pathophysiology of mesangial cells has long been considered to ... more recent evidence suggests that podocytes also play a critical role in the early functional and structural ...