ArticleAmerican journal of physiology. Renal physiology2021
A new view of macula densa cell microanatomy.
Article in American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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19 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Macroanatomical, Histological, Histochemical and Ultrastructural Characterisation of the Kidney in the Aksaray Malakli Dog: First Comprehensive Renal Morphological Study of the Breed.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- Macula Densa Alleviates Shiga Toxin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury via CCN1-Mediated Renal Tubular Repair.Toxins · 2025Article
- Urinary microvesicles: a window into the kidney.Clinical kidney journal · 2025Review
- Three dimensional multiscalar neurovascular nephron connectivity map of the human kidney across the lifespan.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Induced Proteinuria Enhances Adeno-Associated Virus Transduction of Renal Tubule Epithelial Cells After Intravenous Administration.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Crosstalk between renin and arachidonic acid (and its metabolites).Lipids in health and disease · 2025Review
- Macula densa cell angiogenic mechanisms and their therapeutic potential in kidney disease.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Hold the salt for kidney regeneration.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Article
- Angiotensin II Directly Increases Endothelial Calcium and Nitric Oxide in Kidney and Brain Microvessels In Vivo With Reduced Efficacy in Hypertension.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2024Article
- Physiological Mechanisms of Dietary Salt Sensing in the Brain, Kidney, and Gastrointestinal Tract.Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) · 2024Review
- Glomerular microcirculation: Implications for diabetes, preeclampsia, and kidney injury.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2023Review
- ZO-1 expression in normal human macula densa: Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence investigations.Journal of anatomy · 2023Article
- Ion channels and channelopathies in glomeruli.Physiological reviews · 2023Review
- Defining the origin, evolution, and immune composition of SDH-deficient renal cell carcinoma.iScience · 2022Article
- Intravital imaging reveals glomerular capillary distension and endothelial and immune cell activation early in Alport syndrome.JCI insight · 2022Article
- A quantitative 3D intravital look at the juxtaglomerular renin-cell-niche reveals an individual intra/extraglomerular feedback system.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- A new view of macula densa cell protein synthesis.American journal of physiology. Renal physiology · 2021Article
- Renal cell markers: lighthouses for managing renal diseases.American journal of physiology. Renal physiology · 2021Article
- Salt intake and the dance of the macula densa cells.American journal of physiology. Renal physiology · 2021Article
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12 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
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Abstract
Although macula densa (MD) cells are chief regulatory cells in the nephron with unique microanatomical features, they have been difficult to study in full detail due to their inaccessibility and limitations in earlier microscopy techniques. The present study used a new mouse model with a comprehensive imaging approach to visualize so far unexplored microanatomical features of MD cells, their regulation, and functional relevance. MD-GFP mice with conditional and partial induction of green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression, which specifically and intensely illuminated only single MD cells, were used with fluorescence microscopy of fixed tissue and live MD cells in vitro and in vivo with complementary electron microscopy of the rat, rabbit, and human kidney. An elaborate network of major and minor cell processes, here named maculapodia, were found at the cell base, projecting toward other MD cells and the glomerular vascular pole. The extent of maculapodia showed upregulation by low dietary salt intake and the female sex. Time-lapse imaging of maculapodia revealed highly dynamic features including rapid outgrowth and an extensive vesicular transport system. Electron microscopy of rat, rabbit, and human kidneys and three-dimensional volume reconstruction in optically cleared whole-mount MD-GFP mouse kidneys further confirmed the presence and projections of maculapodia into the extraglomerular mesangium and afferent and efferent arterioles. The newly identified dynamic and secretory features of MD cells suggest the presence of novel functional and molecular pathways of cell-to-cell communication in the juxtaglomerular apparatus between MD cells and between MD and other target cells.
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