Journal of Nephrology & Therapeutics

Kristin Meliambro

Publications

• Review Article
  The Podocyte as a Therapeutic Target in Proteinuric Kidney Disease
  Author(s): Kristin Meliambro, John Cijiang He and Kirk N CampbellKristin Meliambro, John Cijiang He and Kirk N Campbell
  
  Kidney podocytes are highly differentiated cells with a complex cellular morphology. They are located inside the glomerulus, a corpuscle of capillaries through which blood is filtered hydrostatically through a high-volume/highdiscrimination filter. Neighboring podocyte Foot Processes (FP) is connected by a specialized cell-cell junction, the Slit Diaphragm (SD), which represents the main size selective filtration barrier in the kidney. The podocyte is an attractive cell for drug targeting due largely to its presence on the epithelial surface of one of the best vascularized organs in the body. Podocytes are exposed to 180 liters of filtered water and solutes each day, with the glomerular basement membrane and fenestrated  glomerular endothelium not likely to be obstacles to small molecule passage. Though no podocyte-specific drugs are presently available, clinical nephrology has t.. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2161-0959.1000143

  Abstract PDF