Nano-porous membranes mediate podocyte proliferation and morphology

Podocytes are the mature glomerular epithelial cells that processes highly branched architecture essential for glomerular filtration in the kidney. To resemble the filtration barrier in vivo, we use porous membranes in podocyte culture to mimic the glomerular basement membrane. We found that the morphology of the podocytes were dependent on pore sizes and membrane material. Podocytes grew on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes have higher degree of cell spreading and grew faster than they did on polycarbonate (PC) membrane. The difference is even more significant when cultured on AAO with smaller pores. To study the porosity only, both membranes were coated with collagen. The results show that the difference of cell growing rate was reduced, while the degree of cell spreading was still higher in AAO membrane. This results show that the podocyte culture is dependent on the underneath porosity and material property, with the implication for 'kidney on a chip' in the future pharmaceutical development.