The role of the podocyte in glomerulosclerosis.

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is a pathological hallmark of many forms of progressive renal disease. The 'classic' lesion, based on the adhesion of the capillary tuft to Bowman's capsule, results from the loss of podocytes from the capillary basement membrane. The recently described 'collapsing' variant, in contrast, has an apparent excess of extracapillary cells, which may represent dedifferentiated, 'dysregulated' podocytes.