A new research study explores patterns in kidney structures to better understand focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a condition where scar tissue develops in parts of the kidney.
The team of researchers aimed to measure the size of a cluster of capillaries in the kidney called glomeruli. They used different methods to make these measurements and compared their accuracy. The usual methods use the two-dimensional circular area obtained from each glomerulus on sectioning kidney tissue specimens to estimate the three-dimensional volume. The usual methods use the two-dimensional circular area obtained from each glomerulus on sectioning kidney tissue specimens to estimate the three-dimensional volume. Using the gold standard Cavalieri method as a reference, the researchers found that measurements obtained using three tissue sections performed better than the traditional approach which uses just two tissue sections.
The group also observed that kidney tissue processing influenced the measurements, as tissue embedded in plastic demonstrated different results than tissue embedded in paraffin likely due to the different amounts of tissue shrinkage seen with each of these methods. Importantly based on this, the researchers observed that scarred or damaged glomeruli shrank less during tissue preparation than normal glomeruli, a potential marker for glomerular scarring.
These findings offer insights into more accurate measurement of kidney structures like the glomeruli, which could ultimately lead to improved diagnosis and prognosis for patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
To learn more, read the article: “Comparative evaluation of glomerular morphometric techniques reveals differential technical artifacts between focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and normal glomeruli.”
Reghuvaran AC, Lin Q, Basgen JM, et al. Comparative evaluation of glomerular morphometric techniques reveals differential technical artifacts between focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and normal glomeruli. Physiol Rep. 2023;11(13):e15688. doi:10.14814/phy2.15688