AsianScientist (Dec. 18, 2013) – University of Queensland (UQ) researchers have grown a kidney using stem cells, making a leap forward in treating renal disease.
The research study, published in the scientific journal Nature Cell Biology, is led by Professor Melissa Little from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB). The team designed a protocol that prompts stem cells to form all the required cell types to ‘self-organize’ into a mini-kidney in a dish.
“During self-organization, different types of cells arrange themselves with respect to each other to create the complex structures that exist within an organ, in this case, the kidney,” said Little.
“The fact that such stem cell populations can undergo self-organization in the laboratory bodes well for the future of tissue bioengineering to replace damaged and diseased organs and tissues. It may also act as a powerful tool to identify drug candidates that may be harmful to the kidney before these reach clinical trial.”
Little cautioned that there was a long way to go before this might be ready for human trials, but that it was an exciting step forward.
The article can be found at: Takasato M et al. (2013) Directing human embryonic stem cell differentiation towards a renal lineage generates a self-organizing kidney.
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Source: The University of Queensland.
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