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Review
. 2013 Feb 6;2(1):1-10.
doi: 10.5527/wjn.v2.i1.1.

Roles of adaptor proteins in podocyte biology

Tae-Sun Ha  1
Affiliations
Review

Roles of adaptor proteins in podocyte biology

Tae-Sun Ha. World J Nephrol. .

Abstract

Podocytes covering the glomerular basement membrane over the glomerular capillary consist of three morphologically and functionally different segments, the cell body, major processes and extending finger-like foot processes (FPs). The FPs of neighboring podocytes are connected by a continuous adherent junction structure named the slit diaphragm (SD). The extracellular SD is linked to the intracellular, a highly dynamic, cytoskeleton through adaptor proteins. These adaptor proteins, such as CD2-associated protein, zonula occludens 1, β-catenin, Nck and p130Cas, located at the intracellular SD insertion area near lipid rafts, have important structural and functional roles. Adaptor proteins in podocytes play important roles as a structural component of the podocyte structure, linking the SD to the cytoskeletal structure and as a signaling platform sending signals from the SD to the actin cytoskeleton. This review discusses the roles of adaptor proteins in the podocyte cytoskeletal structure and signaling from the SD to the actin cytoskeleton.

Keywords: Adaptor protein; Podocyte; Proteinuria; Signaling; Slit diaphragm.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic view of podocyte structure. A: Cytoskeleton; B: Apical membrane domain; C: Slit diaphragm protein complex domain; D: Basal membrane domain. Adaptor proteins link mainly slit diaphragm proteins to cytoskeleton. FAKs: Focal adhesion kinases; ZO: Zonula occludens; CD2AP: CD2-associated protein.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Nephrin-adaptors complex. Adaptor proteins including CD2-associated protein (CD2AP) and Nck, anchor nephrin and podocin to the cytoskeleton, maintain podocyte cytoskeletal structure and modulate the signaling pathway between the slit diaphragm and cytoskeleton. PI3-K: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase; N-WASP: Neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein.
Figure 3
Figure 3
P-Cadherin-β-catenin-Wnt signaling. Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays an important role in cell adhesion, maintaining the cytoskeletal structure and survival/apoptosis in podocytes. ZO: Zonula occludens; CD2AP: CD2-associated protein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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