Application of Conventional FE-SEM to Podocyte Structural Analysis: Protocol and Usage Examples

Abstract

　Podocytes, an epithelial cell type specialized for glomerular filtration, exhibit a complex projection structure. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) is a powerful approach to observing the surface structure of podocytes, particularly their pathologic alterations, including foot process effacement. Here, we introduce the conventional FE-SEM protocol for three-dimensional visualization of podocyte surface structure in our institution. This method is reproducible and allows us to visualize the luminal surface of numerous podocytes simultaneously.