Podocalyxin-positive glomerular epithelial cells in urine correlate with a positive outcome in FSGS.

Background: Parietal epithelial cells (PECs) and podocytes are the 2 epithelial cell types in the glomerulus. In contrast to podocytes, PECs have the ability to proliferate lifelong, and they can transdifferentiate into other cell types. We previously published that excretion of podocalyxin (PDX)-positive PECs in the urine correlates with disease activity in different glomerular diseases.