Podocyte hypertrophy 2019-07-05T17:07:56Z Increased visceral epithelial cell size, with or without cytoplasmic protein droplets. Hypertrophy of visceral epithelial cells Podocytes, also called visceral glomerular epithelial cells, are terminally differentiated cells that line the outer surface of the glomerular basement membrane. Podocytes prevent protein leakage into the urinary space, and also provide important tensile strength to the glomerular capillaries, by opposing the hydrostatic pressure from within. In contrast to glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells, podocytes do not typically proliferate. Studies have shown that following podocyte loss, the inability of podocytes to proliferate contributes to the development of glomerulosclerosis. Consequently, in order to cover the denuded glomerular basement membrane, podocytes increase in size due to hypertrophy. Although this is initially compensatory, podocyte hypertrophy is likely maladaptive, and contributes to glomerulosclerosis. Glomerular visceral epithelial cell hypertrophy Abnormal glomerular visceral epithelial cell morphology