NOTCH2 and nephrosis: In this context, the findings that higher glomerular Notch2 expression from diabetic mice that overexpressed podocyte-specific Mafb–a transcription factor that is essential for podocyte differentiation and foot process formation–ameliorated DN (Morito et al., 2014), and that pharmacological activation of Notch2 by an agonist mAb was beneficial against adriamycin-induced nephrosis (Tanaka et al., 2014) further support the hypothesis that this receptor has a protective effect on podocyte function and survival.