Gene expression analysis of rat glomerular parietal epithelial cells

Very little is known about the function of glomerular parietal epithelial cells (PECs). In this study, we performed genome-wide expression analysis on PEC-enriched capsulated vs. PEC-deprived decapsulated rat glomeruli to determine the transcriptional state of PECs under normal conditions. We identified hundreds of differentially expressed genes that mapped to distinct biologic modules including development, tight junction, ion transport, and metabolic processes. Since developmental programs were highly enriched in PECs, we characterized several of their candidate members at the protein level. Collectively, our findings confirm that PECs are multifaceted cells and help define their diverse functional repertoire.目前人们对肾小球壁层上皮细胞（glomerular parietal epithelial cells，PECs）的功能认知极为有限。本研究针对富集PECs的被囊大鼠肾小球与剔除PECs的脱囊大鼠肾小球开展全基因组表达谱分析，以明确正常生理条件下PECs的转录状态。我们共鉴定出数百个差异表达基因，这些基因富集于多个不同的生物学功能模块，涵盖发育、紧密连接、离子转运及代谢过程等范畴。鉴于发育相关程序在PECs中高度富集，我们在蛋白质水平对其中数条候选基因进行了表征。综上，本研究结果证实PECs是一类具有多维度功能的细胞，并有助于厘清其多样化的功能谱系。