Epigenetic control of podocyte differentiation: a new target of the renin-angiotensin system in kidney disease

Glomerular podocyte integrity is essential to limit protein filtration in the urine. Hayashi et al. report that epigenetic mechanisms control podocyte differentiation and that activation of the renin-angiotensin system in kidney disease affects podocyte differentiation and proteinuria by resetting the podocyte epigenome. These findings suggest that modulation of DNA methylation could be a promising target for the control of proteinuric kidney disease.