Parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are increasingly recognized as key players in the pathogenesis of proliferative glomerular diseases. A new study by Rizzo and colleagues contributes to this emerging concept and identifies potential novel signalling pathways that might mediate the activation of PECs. However, the functional role of PECs remains controversial.
References
Rizzo, P. et al. Nature and mediators of parietal epithelial cell activation in glomerulonephritides of human and rat. Am. J. Pathol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2013.08.008.
Berger, K. et al. The regenerative potential of parietal epithelial cells in adult mice. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. (in press).
Ding, M. et al. Loss of the tumor suppressor Vhlh leads to upregulation of Cxcr4 and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis in mice. Nat. Med. 12, 1081–1087 (2006).
Fatima, H. et al. Parietal epithelial cell activation marker in early recurrence of FSGS in the transplant. Clin. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 7, 1852–1858 (2012).
Le Hir, M. & Besse-Eschmann, V. A novel mechanism of nephron loss in a murine model of crescentic glomerulonephritis. Kidney Int. 63, 591–599 (2003).
Smeets, B. et al. Tracing the origin of glomerular extracapillary lesions from parietal epithelial cells. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 20, 2604–2615 (2009).
Smeets, B. & Moeller, M. J. Parietal epithelial cells and podocytes in glomerular diseases. Semin. Nephrol. 32, 357–367 (2012).
Smeets, B. et al. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition prevents development of collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in Thy-1.1 transgenic mice. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant. 21, 3087–3097 (2006).
Ronconi, E. et al. Regeneration of glomerular podocytes by human renal progenitors. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 20, 322–332 (2009).
Appel, D. et al. Recruitment of podocytes from glomerular parietal epithelial cells. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol. 20, 333–343 (2009).
Acknowledgements
The authors' work is supported by the German Research Foundation SFB/TRR57 TP17 (M. J. Moeller) and the Else Kroener Fresenius Foundation (C. Kuppe).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moeller, M., Kuppe, C. The role of parietal epithelial cells in hyperplastic lesions. Nat Rev Nephrol 10, 5–6 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.252
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.252
- Springer Nature Limited