Glomerular structure and function require paracrine, not autocrine, VEGF–VEGFR-2 signaling

K Sison, V Eremina, H Baelde, W Min… - Journal of the …, 2010 - journals.lww.com
VEGF is a potent vascular growth factor produced by podocytes in the developing and
mature glomerulus. Specific deletion of VEGF from podocytes causes glomerular
abnormalities including profound endothelial cell injury, suggesting that paracrine signaling
is critical for maintaining the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB). However, it is not clear
whether normal GFB function also requires autocrine VEGF signaling in podocytes. In this
study, we sought to determine whether an autocrine VEGF–VEGFR-2 loop in podocytes …