Congenital Podocytopathy with Podocyte Loss and Glomerular Crescents: A Case Report in a Preterm Newborn

Podocytes, also known as glomerular visceral epithelial cells, are highly renal specialized cells leaving between them slit diaphragms that ensure the integrity of the renal basement membrane, playing a major role in establishing a size-selective barrier to protein loss. The reduction in podocyte number represents an important determinant of progressive impairment of the glomerular function that leads to the development of massive proteinuria and ultimately to renal scarring. Podocytopathies are generally considered typical of childhood and adulthood. Here we report a case of podocyte loss presenting in a newborn, prospecting the hypothesis that podocytopathies could start in the perinatal period or, putatively, in the intrauterine life.