The prorenin receptor is an accessory subunit of the vacuolar H+-ATPase, suggesting that it
has fundamental functions beyond activation of the local renin-angiotensin system.
Podocytes express the prorenin receptor, but its function in these cells is unknown. Here,
podocyte-specific, conditional, prorenin receptor-knockout mice died of kidney failure and
severe proteinuria within 4 weeks of birth. The podocytes of these mice exhibited foot
process effacement with reduced and altered localization of the slit-diaphragm proteins …