For the successful isolation of rat kidneys, male rats of approximately 8 weeks old are used. The kidneys are fl ushed with PBS to clean out blood and urine. In addition to the electrophysiological measurements described below, this procedure may be useful for several other applications, e.g., immunohistochemical, biochemical, or molecular analysis of the tissue, etc. Figures 1 and 2 demonstrate steps required to isolate the glomeruli. Figure 3 shows the electron microscopy of the freshly isolated glomerulus fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde buffered in 0.1 M cacodylate (pH 7.4). As seen on these images acquired by the transmission electron microscopy, a normal configuration of podocytes with coordinated pattern of foot processes was observed (Fig. 3). With the help of the patch clamp technique, we have examined the biophysical properties of native TRPC channels in the podocytes of the freshly isolated decapsulated glomeruli. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to study functional channels in these intact glomeruli. The use of specific inhibitors within the patch pipette together with the composition of the pipette and bath solutions and the parameters of the current–voltage dependencies allowed distinguishing two channel types with distinct TRPC properties. However the development of this approach and identi fi cation of the precise composition of TRPC channels in podocytes require additional studies.