Microtubule-generated anisotropy in the epidermis drives twisted growth in Arabidopsis roots

Chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney failure are widespread health problems with no cure. The biophysics underlying them are still not clear, in part because material systems for reconstituting the microenvironment of relevant kidney cells are limited. A critical question is how kidney podocytes (glomerular epithelial cells) regenerate foot processes of the filtration apparatus following injury. Recently identified sarcomere-like structures (SLSs) with periodically spaced myosin IIA and synaptopodin appear in injured podocytes in vivo. We hypothesized that SLSs template synaptopodin in the initial stages of recovery, and tested this hypothesis by developing an ex vivo culture system where SLSs were observed for the first time in podocytes migrated out of isolated kidney glomeruli. Podocytes formed peripheral foot process-like extensions from the periodically spaced synaptopodin-positive clusters. SLSs were mechanoresponsive to actomyosin inhibitors and substrate stiffness. Results indicate a role for mechanobiological factors in podocyte recovery, and suggest SLSs as a target for therapeutic intervention. Mechano-chemical Correlations in Plant Biomass-derived Cell Walls and Nanocomposites