Proteinuria Level and Associated Changes in Glomerular Podocytes and Renal Tubular Epithelium

Abstract

The correlation between glomerular podocytes and renal tubular cells involved in handling of leaked proteins and the level of proteinuria was evaluated. Retrospective 22 cases of clinical proteinuria in patients with various glomerulopathies were retrieved and analyzed. Glomerulopathies in the concerned patients were pathologically diagnosed through light and electron microscopic examination of the submitted renal biopsies. Three cases with protein levels in urine within the acceptable normal range were additionally analyzed as controls. Electron microscopic examination of the glomerular podocytes and immunofluorescence of the renal tubular epithelium in the relevant cases constituted the base for the present study. Among the studied cases, it was found that the greater the number of glomerular podocytes with reabsorbed intracytoplasmic proteins and the higher score of tubular protein immunofluorescence, the lower the level of proteinuria. Comparatively, cases with fewer number of podocytes with reabsorbed proteins and lower score of tubular protein immunofluorescence had higher levels of proteinuria. The present study aims to pay the attention to the correlation between morphologically recognizable glomerular podocytes and renal tubular epithelium with reabsorbed proteins and the level of proteinuria in patients with various glomerulopathies. The current study may serve as a base for the future research work concerned with the structural changes of glomerular podocytes and renal tubular epithelium as a compensative mechanism in cases of proteinuria.