Aging kidneys reveal underlying mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction

Jiang et al. show that zinc finger FYVE-type containing 21, a Rab5 effector in glomerular endothelial cells is involved in the maintenance of glomerular filtration barrier homeostasis through the stabilization of activated endothelial nitric oxide synthase on subcellular vesicles. The study demonstrates that zinc finger FYVE-type containing 21 could modulate the levels of caveolin-1 in glomerular endothelial cells using vesicle-based trafficking, thereby supporting endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity. The authors provide evidence that decreased zinc finger FYVE-type containing 21 expression in glomerular endothelial cells could play a role in aging-related glomerular filtration barrier dysfunction.