Previously, we showed that some podocytes in juvenile mice are recruited from cells lining
Bowman's capsule, suggesting that parietal epithelial cells (PECs) are a progenitor cell
population for podocytes. To investigate whether PECs also replenish podocytes in adult
mice, PECs were genetically labeled in an irreversible fashion in 5-week-old mice. No
significant increase in labeled podocytes was observed, even after 18 months. To accelerate
a potential regenerative mechanism, progressive glomerular hypertrophy was induced by …