scholarly journals Kidney Organoids and Tubuloids

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fjodor A. Yousef Yengej ◽  
Jitske Jansen ◽  
Maarten B. Rookmaaker ◽  
Marianne C. Verhaar ◽  
Hans Clevers
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Kidney Development ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Kidney Diseases ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Distal Tubule ◽  
Metanephric Mesenchyme ◽  
Kidney Organoids

In the past five years, pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived kidney organoids and adult stem or progenitor cell (ASC)-based kidney tubuloids have emerged as advanced in vitro models of kidney development, physiology, and disease. PSC-derived organoids mimic nephrogenesis. After differentiation towards the kidney precursor tissues ureteric bud and metanephric mesenchyme, their reciprocal interaction causes self-organization and patterning in vitro to generate nephron structures that resemble the fetal kidney. ASC tubuloids on the other hand recapitulate renewal and repair in the adult kidney tubule and give rise to long-term expandable and genetically stable cultures that consist of adult proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubule, and collecting duct epithelium. Both organoid types hold great potential for: (1) studies of kidney physiology, (2) disease modeling, (3) high-throughput screening for drug efficacy and toxicity, and (4) regenerative medicine. Currently, organoids and tubuloids are successfully used to model hereditary, infectious, toxic, metabolic, and malignant kidney diseases and to screen for effective therapies. Furthermore, a tumor tubuloid biobank was established, which allows studies of pathogenic mutations and novel drug targets in a large group of patients. In this review, we discuss the nature of kidney organoids and tubuloids and their current and future applications in science and medicine.

scholarly journals iPSC technology-based regenerative medicine for kidney diseases

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Osafune
Keyword(s):  
Regenerative Medicine ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Kidney Development ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Kidney Diseases ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Renal Tubules ◽  
Discovery Research ◽  
Drug Discovery Research

AbstractWith few curative treatments for kidney diseases, increasing attention has been paid to regenerative medicine as a new therapeutic option. Recent progress in kidney regeneration using human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is noteworthy. Based on the knowledge of kidney development, the directed differentiation of hiPSCs into two embryonic kidney progenitors, nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) and ureteric bud (UB), has been established, enabling the generation of nephron and collecting duct organoids. Furthermore, human kidney tissues can be generated from these hiPSC-derived progenitors, in which NPC-derived glomeruli and renal tubules and UB-derived collecting ducts are interconnected. The induced kidney tissues are further vascularized when transplanted into immunodeficient mice. In addition to the kidney reconstruction for use in transplantation, it has been demonstrated that cell therapy using hiPSC-derived NPCs ameliorates acute kidney injury (AKI) in mice. Disease modeling and drug discovery research using disease-specific hiPSCs has also been vigorously conducted for intractable kidney disorders, such as autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). In an attempt to address the complications associated with kidney diseases, hiPSC-derived erythropoietin (EPO)-producing cells were successfully generated to discover drugs and develop cell therapy for renal anemia. This review summarizes the current status and future perspectives of developmental biology of kidney and iPSC technology-based regenerative medicine for kidney diseases.

scholarly journals Generation of patterned kidney organoids that recapitulate the adult kidney collecting duct system from expandable ureteric bud progenitors

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zipeng Zeng ◽  
Biao Huang ◽  
Riana K. Parvez ◽  
Yidan Li ◽  
Jyunhao Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kidney Development ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Branching Morphogenesis ◽  
Duct System ◽  
Ureteric Bud ◽  
Defined Culture ◽  
Kidney Organoids

AbstractCurrent kidney organoids model development and diseases of the nephron but not the contiguous epithelial network of the kidney’s collecting duct (CD) system. Here, we report the generation of an expandable, 3D branching ureteric bud (UB) organoid culture model that can be derived from primary UB progenitors from mouse and human fetal kidneys, or generated de novo from human pluripotent stem cells. In chemically-defined culture conditions, UB organoids generate CD organoids, with differentiated principal and intercalated cells adopting spatial assemblies reflective of the adult kidney’s collecting system. Aggregating 3D-cultured nephron progenitor cells with UB organoids in vitro results in a reiterative process of branching morphogenesis and nephron induction, similar to kidney development. Applying an efficient gene editing strategy to remove RET activity, we demonstrate genetically modified UB organoids can model congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract. Taken together, these platforms will facilitate an enhanced understanding of development, regeneration and diseases of the mammalian collecting duct system.

scholarly journals iPSC-derived hepatocytes generated from NASH donors provide a valuable platform for disease modeling and drug discovery

Biology Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. bio055087
Author(s):  
Igor Gurevich ◽  
Sarah A. Burton ◽  
Christie Munn ◽  
Makiko Ohshima ◽  
Madelyn E. Goedland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Induced Pluripotent ◽  
Liver Organoids ◽  
End Stage

ABSTRACTNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 30–40% of adults and 10% of children in the US. About 20% of people with NAFLD develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, and is projected to be a leading cause of liver transplantation in the near future. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from NASH patients are useful for generating a large number of hepatocytes for NASH modeling applications and identification of potential drug targets. We developed a novel defined in vitro differentiation process to generate cryopreservable hepatocytes using an iPSC panel of NASH donors and apparently healthy normal (AHN) controls. iPSC-derived hepatocytes displayed stage specific phenotypic markers, hepatocyte morphology, with bile canaliculi. Importantly, both fresh and cryopreserved definitive endoderm and hepatoblasts successfully differentiated to pure and functional hepatocytes with increased CYP3A4 activity in response to rifampicin and lipid accumulation upon fatty acid (FA) treatment. End-stage hepatocytes integrated into three-dimensional (3D) liver organoids and demonstrated increased levels of albumin secretion compared to aggregates consisting of hepatocytes alone. End-stage hepatocytes derived from NASH donors demonstrated spontaneous lipidosis without FA supplementation, recapitulating a feature of NASH hepatocytes in vivo. Cryopreserved hepatocytes generated by this protocol across multiple donors will provide a critical cell source to facilitate the fundamental understanding of NAFLD/NASH biology and potential high throughput screening applications for preclinical evaluation of therapeutic targets.

Dominant effects of RET receptor misexpression and ligand-independent RET signaling on ureteric bud development

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (7) ◽  
pp. 1375-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Srinivas ◽  
Z. Wu ◽  
C.M. Chen ◽  
V. D'Agati ◽  
F. Costantini
Keyword(s):  
Kidney Development ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Metanephric Mesenchyme ◽  
Ureteric Bud ◽  
Independent Form ◽  
Normal Expression ◽  
Bud Growth

During kidney development, factors from the metanephric mesenchyme induce the growth and repeated branching of the ureteric bud, which gives rise to the collecting duct system and also induces nephrogenesis. One signaling pathway known to be required for this process includes the receptor tyrosine kinase RET and co-receptor GFR(α)-1, which are expressed in the ureteric bud, and the secreted ligand GDNF produced in the mesenchyme. To examine the role of RET signaling in ureteric bud morphogenesis, we produced transgenic mice in which the pattern of RET expression was altered, or in which a ligand-independent form of RET kinase was expressed. The Hoxb7 promoter was used to express RET throughout the ureteric bud branches, in contrast to its normal expression only at the bud tips. This caused a variable inhibition of ureteric bud growth and branching reminiscent of, but less severe than, the RET knockout phenotype. Manipulation of the level of GDNF, in vitro or in vivo, suggested that this defect was due to insufficient rather than excessive RET signaling. We propose that RET receptors expressed ectopically on ureteric bud trunk cells sequester GDNF, reducing its availability to the normal target cells at the bud tips. When crossed to RET knockout mice, the Hoxb7/RET transgene, which encoded the RET9 isoform, supported normal kidney development in some RET−/− animals, indicating that the other major isoform, RET51, is not required in this organ. Expression of a Hoxb7/RET-PTC2 transgene, encoding a ligand-independent form of RET kinase, caused the development of abnormal nodules, outside the kidney or at its periphery, containing branched epithelial tubules apparently formed by deregulated growth of the ureteric bud. This suggests that RET signaling is not only necessary but is sufficient to induce ureteric bud growth, and that the orderly, centripetal growth of the bud tips is controlled by the spatially and temporally regulated expression of GDNF and RET.

scholarly journals Fate-mapping within human kidney organoids reveals conserved mammalian nephron progenitor lineage relationships

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara E Howden ◽  
Jessica M Vanslambrouck ◽  
Sean B Wilson ◽  
Ker Sin Tan ◽  
Melissa H Little
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cell ◽  
Kidney Development ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Kidney Tissue ◽  
Human Kidney ◽  
Lineage Tracing ◽  
Nephron Progenitor ◽  
Kidney Organoids

AbstractWhile mammalian kidney morphogenesis has been well documented, human kidney development is poorly understood. Here we combine reprogramming, CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing and organoid technologies to study human nephron lineage relationships in vitro. Early kidney organoids contained a SIX2+ population with a transcriptional profile akin to human nephron progenitors. Lineage-tracing using gene-edited induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines revealed that SIX2-expressing cells contribute to nephron formation but not to the putative collecting duct epithelium. However, Cre-mediated temporal induction of the SIX2+ lineage revealed a declining capacity for these cells to contribute to nephron formation over time. This suggests human kidney organoids, unlike the developing kidney in vivo, lack a nephron progenitor niche capable of both self-renewal and ongoing nephrogenesis. Nonetheless, human iPSC-derived kidney tissue maintains previously identified lineage relationships supporting the utility of pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney organoids for interrogating the molecular and cellular basis of early human development.

scholarly journals Rapid target validation in a Cas9-inducible hiPSC derived kidney model

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasaman Shamshirgaran ◽  
Anna Jonebring ◽  
Anna Svensson ◽  
Isabelle Leefa ◽  
Mohammad Bohlooly-Y ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Disease Model ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Target Validation ◽  
Direct Differentiation ◽  
Kidney Organoids

AbstractRecent advances in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), genome editing technologies and 3D organoid model systems highlight opportunities to develop new in vitro human disease models to serve drug discovery programs. An ideal disease model would accurately recapitulate the relevant disease phenotype and provide a scalable platform for drug and genetic screening studies. Kidney organoids offer a high cellular complexity that may provide greater insights than conventional single-cell type cell culture models. However, genetic manipulation of the kidney organoids requires prior generation of genetically modified clonal lines, which is a time and labor consuming procedure. Here, we present a methodology for direct differentiation of the CRISPR-targeted cell pools, using a doxycycline-inducible Cas9 expressing hiPSC line for high efficiency editing to eliminate the laborious clonal line generation steps. We demonstrate the versatile use of genetically engineered kidney organoids by targeting the autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) genes: PKD1 and PKD2. Direct differentiation of the respective knockout pool populations into kidney organoids resulted in the formation of cyst-like structures in the tubular compartment. Our findings demonstrated that we can achieve > 80% editing efficiency in the iPSC pool population which resulted in a reliable 3D organoid model of ADPKD. The described methodology may provide a platform for rapid target validation in the context of disease modeling.

Abnormal postpartum renal development and cystogenesis in the bcl-2 (-/-) mouse

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (1) ◽  
pp. F184-F193 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Sorenson ◽  
B. J. Padanilam ◽  
M. R. Hammerman
Keyword(s):  
Cellular Proliferation ◽  
Kidney Development ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Distal Tubule ◽  
Renal Development ◽  
Thick Ascending Limb ◽  
Renal Hypoplasia ◽  
Cellular Origin ◽  
Bax Protein

Mice deficient for B cell leukemia/lymphoma gene 2 [bcl-2(-/-) mice] manifest congenital renal hypoplasia and develop multicystic kidney disease and renal failure postnatally. To characterize postpartum renal development, to identify the cellular origin of the cysts, and to provide insight into the role that bcl-2 deficiency plays in the cystogenic process, we examined the morphology of kidneys from bcl-2 (-/-) mice and wild-type littermates [bcl-2 (+/+)] from birth (P0) to postpartum day 28 (P28), determined whether abnormalities of cellular proliferation and apoptosis accompany cyst development, and characterized expression of the bcl-2-related protein, bax. Between P0 and P7, kidneys from bcl-2 (-/-) and bcl-2 (+/+) mice undergo a comparable increase in weight and have similar histological appearances. However, during the next 2 wk of life, weight gain in kidneys from bcl-2 (-/-) mice is reduced compared with that in kidneys from bcl-2 (+/+) animals, and cysts develop in tubules with staining characteristics of proximal tubule, distal tubule/medullary thick ascending limb of Henle's loop, and collecting duct. Unaffected glomeruli and proximal tubules in kidneys of bcl-2 (-/-) mice undergo compensatory growth. Cystogenesis is accompanied by enhanced incorporation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine in cells within cortex and medulla and apoptosis of cells within cysts and in the renal interstitium. Bax protein is expressed in the distal tubule in kidneys of bcl-2 (+/+) and bcl-2 (-/-) mice and in some, but not all cysts. We conclude that abnormal regulation of DNA synthesis and apoptosis accompany cystogenesis in bcl-2 (-/-) mice during postpartum kidney development. Continued expression of bax could enhance apoptotic cell death.0

scholarly journals Electrophysiological Analysis of Brain Organoids: Current Approaches and Advancements

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin P. Passaro ◽  
Steven L. Stice
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Physiological Relevance ◽  
Human Cell Cultures ◽  
Brain Organoid ◽  
Electrophysiological Methods

Brain organoids, or cerebral organoids, have become widely used to study the human brain in vitro. As pluripotent stem cell-derived structures capable of self-organization and recapitulation of physiological cell types and architecture, brain organoids bridge the gap between relatively simple two-dimensional human cell cultures and non-human animal models. This allows for high complexity and physiological relevance in a controlled in vitro setting, opening the door for a variety of applications including development and disease modeling and high-throughput screening. While technologies such as single cell sequencing have led to significant advances in brain organoid characterization and understanding, improved functional analysis (especially electrophysiology) is needed to realize the full potential of brain organoids. In this review, we highlight key technologies for brain organoid development and characterization, then discuss current electrophysiological methods for brain organoid analysis. While electrophysiological approaches have improved rapidly for two-dimensional cultures, only in the past several years have advances been made to overcome limitations posed by the three-dimensionality of brain organoids. Here, we review major advances in electrophysiological technologies and analytical methods with a focus on advances with applicability for brain organoid analysis.

scholarly journals Research fronts of Chemical Biology

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Lv
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Chemical Biology ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Binding Assays ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Diagnostic Technologies

Abstract Over the past decades, researchers have witnessed substantially increasing and ever-growing interests and efforts in Chemical Biology studies, thanks to the development of genome and epi-genome sequencing (revealing potential drug targets), synthetic chemistry (producing new medicines), bioorthogonal chemistry (chemistry in living systems) and high-throughput screening technologies (in vitro cell systems, protein binding assays and phenotypic assays). This report presents literature search results for current research in Chemical Biology, to explore basic principles, summarize recent advances, identify key challenges, and provide suggestions for future research (with a focus on Chemical Biology in the context of human health and diseases). Chemical Biology research can positively contribute to delivering a better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that accompany pathology underlying diseases, as well as developing improved methods for diagnosis, drug discovery, and therapeutic delivery. While much progress has been made, as shown in this report, there are still further needs and opportunities. For instance, pressing challenges still exist in selecting appropriate targets in biological systems and adopting more rational design strategies for the development of innovative and sustainable diagnostic technologies and medical treatments. Therefore, more than ever, researchers from different disciplines need to collaborate to address the challenges in Chemical Biology.

scholarly journals 3D kidney organoids for bench-to-bedside translation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navin Gupta✉ ◽  
Emre Dilmen ◽  
Ryuji Morizane
Keyword(s):  
Collecting Duct ◽  
Developmental Toxicity ◽  
Human Kidney ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Duct Systems ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Induced Pluripotent ◽  
Kidney Organoids

Abstract The kidneys are essential organs that filter the blood, removing urinary waste while maintaining fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. Current conventional research models such as static cell cultures and animal models are insufficient to grasp the complex human in vivo situation or lack translational value. To accelerate kidney research, novel research tools are required. Recent developments have allowed the directed differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells to generate kidney organoids. Kidney organoids resemble the human kidney in vitro and can be applied in regenerative medicine and as developmental, toxicity, and disease models. Although current studies have shown great promise, challenges remain including the immaturity, limited reproducibility, and lack of perfusable vascular and collecting duct systems. This review gives an overview of our current understanding of nephrogenesis that enabled the generation of kidney organoids. Next, the potential applications of kidney organoids are discussed followed by future perspectives. This review proposes that advancement in kidney organoid research will be facilitated through our increasing knowledge on nephrogenesis and combining promising techniques such as organ-on-a-chip models.

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