Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the role of PTEN and desmin in glomeruli in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN). MethodsThirty patients diagnosed as diabetic nephropathy by clinical data and renal biopsy were divided into three groups (grade Ⅰ， Ⅱ， Ⅲ) by glomerular lesion， 10 cases of renal tissues without evident renal disease were obtained from distant portion of renal tumors as control group. The expression of PTEN and desmin in glomeruli were detected by immunocytochemistry. ResultsImmunocytochemical staining showed that the expression of desmin strengthened with the severity of  the  lesions of glomeruli in DN，but the expression of PTEN was  less remarkable. There were obviously negative correlation between the expression of PTEN in glomeruli and 24 h urine protein excretion and the expression of desmin in glomeruli (r=-0.675 and -0.642，respectively，P＜0.01) . ConclusionThe downregulation of PTEN expression may lead to podocyte lesion and aggravate progress of diabetic nephropathy.

Key words: diabetic nephropathy；podocyte, desmin