Glomeruli filter the blood to make urine, and both the glomeruli and the tubules are generated from
kidney progenitor cells during fetal life.
Further testing of this culture method on
kidney progenitor cells derived from human iPS cells resulted in four times the total amount of cells over 8 days.
Salk researchers created
kidney progenitor cells that survive in the lab using 3 - D culture and a mix of supporting molecules.
The success of this research in determining a culture method that artificially increases both the amount of
kidney progenitor cells and their viability time is a major development for the field.
The research is the first in the world to establish methods for culturing
kidney progenitor cells that maintain their ability to form the glomerulus, one of the most important elements of the kidney.
«We isolated
kidney progenitor cells from mice and searched for the most favorable culture conditions,» said Assistant Professor Shunsuke Tanigawa of Kumamoto University.
«Expansion of
kidney progenitor cells toward regenerative medicine.»
The optimized culture allowed
kidney progenitor cells to retain their functionality (the ability to produce glomeruli and tubules) and grow up to 1,800 times their original amount over 20 days.
Many researchers have tried to culture
kidney progenitor cells, but these cells could only be kept for two to three days at most.
To demonstrate the capabilities of SpDamID in the current study, the authors analyzed Notch - mediated transcriptional activation in mouse
kidney progenitor cells (mK4 cells).
The researchers then used a 3 - D cell culture system to coax their mutant and healthy hPSCs down the differentiation pathway into becoming
kidney progenitor cells and finally the proximal tubule cells found in kidney nephrons.
Not exact matches
One promising way to treat diseased or damaged
kidneys is
cell therapies that include the transplantation of renal
progenitor cells, which can then develop into the
cells needed for full recovery.
In those cases, the NPCs often matured into adult
kidney cells in a manner of days, leaving no steady population of
progenitor cells to study.
«If we can culture the other
progenitor cells as well, we'll be closer to building a transplantable
kidney.»
Next, the researchers would like to investigate how to culture the other types of
progenitor cells that are required for a full
kidney, in addition to the nephrons formed by NPCs.
A Gli1
progenitor cell (red) located in a healthy
kidney.
Adult stem /
progenitor cells are present in many organs and tissues, e.g., bone marrow, teeth, heart, gut,
kidney and liver, and remain quiescent for long period of time until activated by a disease or injury trigger.