US 11,747,326 B2
Diagnostic tool to determine podocyte foot process effacement
Karlhans Endlich, Greifswald (DE); Nicole Endlich, Greifswald (DE); and Florian Siegerist, Greifswald (DE)
Assigned to NIPOKA GmbH, Greifswald (DE)
Appl. No. 16/609,080
Filed by NIPOKA GmbH, Greifswald (DE)
PCT Filed Apr. 26, 2018, PCT No. PCT/EP2018/060779
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 28, 2019,
PCT Pub. No. WO2018/197633, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 1, 2018.
Claims priority of application No. 17168506 (EP), filed on Apr. 27, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0049698 A1, Feb. 13, 2020
Int. Cl. G01N 33/50 (2006.01); G01N 1/30 (2006.01); G01N 33/68 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 33/5091 (2013.01) [G01N 1/30 (2013.01); G01N 33/6854 (2013.01); G01N 2800/347 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
 
1. A method for diagnosing or pre-diagnosing a disease associated with podocyte foot process effacement in a subject or for determining the risk of a subject to develop a disease associated with podocyte foot process effacement, said method comprising the steps of
a) determining the length of the slit diaphragm (ISD) formed by podocyte foot processes in a specific area A in a renal tissue sample of said subject by super resolution light microscopy; wherein the specific area A is an area where the glomeruli are visible with a plane view on podocyte foot process;
b) comparing the length of the slit diaphragm (ISD) formed by podocyte foot processes in a specific area A as determined in step (a) with the length of the slit diaphragm (ISD) formed by podocyte foot processes in a comparable specific area A′ in a renal tissue sample of a subject who at the time of the sampling showed no clinical symptoms of a disease associated with podocyte foot process effacement, wherein a deviation indicates the disease associated with podocyte foot process effacement;
wherein
the deviation according to (b) is a decrease of the length of the slit diaphragm (ISD) as determined in (a) compared to the length of the slit diaphragm (ISD) of a subject who at the time of the sampling showed no clinical symptoms of a disease associated with podocyte foot process effacement.