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Credit: https://longevity.technology/news/complex-3d-artificial-kidney-tissue-generated-in-the-lab-from-scratch/

Scientists Make Breakthrough in Creating Artificial Kidneys

February 10, 2022

  • Researchers have generated the first artificial kidney organoid in a laboratory setup.
  • The researchers used cultured embryonic stem cells derived from mice to generate the artificial kidney tissue.  
  • This discovery could improve kidney research and the potential generation of artificial kidneys for human transplants. 
Researchers from Japan’s Kumamoto University have generated a complex 3D artificial kidney tissue that could pave the way for advanced research into transplants of artificial kidneys in the near future.  The team of scientists based at the university’s Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics (IMEG), generated the complex 3D kidney organoid using cultured embryonic stem cells from mice.  Led by Dr. Ryuichi Nishinakamura, the team targeted a unique type of tissue known as stroma—which is made up of a number of support and connective tissues. What’s interesting is that prior to this study, the tissue has often gone unnoticed in organoid generation research.  Dr. Ryuichi and his team have been working on the tissue for several years now, and they managed to generate the final part of a three-part puzzle they had been working on. Once the team combined all three pieces, the resulting structure was observed to have a similar architecture to a kidney. Dr. Nishinakamura’s team believes that the study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications, could lead to the creation of transplantable kidneys in the near future.  Initially, Nishinakamura and his team had already established protocols to induce the nephron progenitor and the ureteric bud, two components vital for the development of artificial kidneys, from the embryonic stem cells of laboratory mice.  It was the third component that was proving the problem. But in this round of research, the team finally managed to induce the kidney-specific stromal progenitor—the third and final component for an artificial kidney.  They then combined all three components in vitro, thus generating artificial kidney-like 3D tissue composed of extensively branched tubules and other notable kidney structures. The researchers now believe that this is the first-ever successful report on the generation of a complex artificial kidney.  “We are now working very hard to generate a fully functional human kidney. We hope to use our developments to screen drugs for various diseases, and for transplantation in the long run.” Currently, the IMEG team has successfully induced the first two components from human iPs cells. Once they generate the last component from human cells, they believe that the creation of a complex human kidney should be achievable.  Credit: https://longevity.technology/news/complex-3d-artificial-kidney-tissue-generated-in-the-lab-from-scratch/

References: https://longevity.technology/news/complex-3d-artificial-kidney-tissue-generated-in-the-lab-from-scratch/

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