Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a leading cause of nephrotic syndrome and
end-stage renal disease worldwide. Although the mechanisms underlying this important
disease are poorly understood, the glomerular podocyte clearly plays a central role in
disease pathogenesis. In the current work, we demonstrate that the homophilic adhesion
molecule sidekick-1 (sdk-1) is up-regulated in podocytes in FSGS both in rodent models and
in human kidney biopsy samples. Transgenic mice that have podocyte-specific …