The National Institutes of Health announces the generation of a construct by ligating 2.5kb human podocin promoter sequence to gene encoding reverse tetracycline-controlled transcriptional activator which enables tetracycline-inducible podocyte specific gene of interest expression with another construct consisting of tetracycline responsive element, minimal CMV promoter and gene of interest.

Podocytes are post-mitotic epithelial cells that are positioned on the exterior aspect of the glomerular capillary wall and contribute to the selective molecular permeability of glomeruli. Podocyte damage or dysfunction results in loss of the characteristic foot processes that normally interdigitate and form the selective permeability barriers composed of filtration slits bridged by slit diaphragms. Minimal damage causes proteinuria that in the case of minimal change disease can be reversed by steroid treatment. In focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, more severe loss of podocytes ultimately results in glomerulosclerosis. The podocyte-specific inducible transgene system can be used to identify factors that exacerbate or ameliorate podocyte injury, and can be used to express Cre-recombinase.