Podocyte injury and resulting albuminuria are hallmarks of diabetic nephropathy, but
targeted therapies to halt or prevent these complications are currently not available. Here,
we show that the immune-related molecule B7-1/CD80 is a critical mediator of podocyte
injury in type 2 diabetic nephropathy. We report the induction of podocyte B7-1 in kidney
biopsy specimens from patients with type 2 diabetes. Genetic and epidemiologic studies
revealed the association of two single nucleotide polymorphisms at the B7-1 gene with …