Stem-cell biology and gene editing advances offer hope for kidney regeneration, drug discovery
Mini-kidney organoids have now been grown in a laboratory by using genome editing to re-create human kidney disease in petri dishes.
The achievement, believed to be the first of its kind, resulted from combining stem cell biology with leading-edge gene-editing techniques.
The journal Nature Communications reports the findings today, Oct. 23. The work paves the way for personalized drug discovery for kidney disease.
The mini-kidney organoids were grown from pluripotent stem cells. These are human cells that have turned back the clock to a time when they could develop into any type of organ in the body. When treated with a chemical cocktail, these stem cells matured into structures that resemble miniature kidneys.
These organoids contain tubules, filtering cells and blood vessel cells. They transport chemicals and respond to toxic injury in ways that are similar to kidney tubules in people.
“A major unanswered question was whether we could re-create human kidney disease in a lab petri dish using this technology,” said Benjamin Freedman, who led the studies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is now an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Washington and a UW Medicine researcher.
“Answering this question,” he said, “was important for understanding the potential of mini-kidneys for clinical kidney regeneration and drug discovery.”
To re-create human disease, Freedman and his colleagues used the gene-editing technique called CRISPR. They engineered mini-kidneys with genetic changes linked to two common kidney diseases, polycystic kidney disease and glomerulonephritis.
The organoids developed characteristics of these diseases. Those with mutations in polycystic kidney disease genes formed balloon like, fluid filled sacks, called cysts, from kidney tubules. The organoids with mutations in podocalyxin, a gene linked to glomerulonephritis, lost connections between filtering cells.
“Mutation of a single gene results in changes kidney structures associated with human disease, thereby allowing better understand of the disease and serving as models to develop therapeutic agents to treat these diseases,” explained Joseph Bonventre, senior author of the study. He is chief of the Renal Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a principal faculty member at Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
“These genetically engineered mini-kidneys,” Freedman added, “have taught us that human disease boils down to simple components that can be re-created in a petri dish. This provides us with faster, better ways to perform ‘clinical trials in a dish’ to test drugs and therapies that might work in humans.”
The researchers found that genetically matched kidney organoids without disease-linked mutations showed no signs of either disease.
“CRISPR can be used to correct gene mutations,” explained Freedman. “Our findings suggest that gene correction using CRISPR may be a promising therapeutic strategy.”
Read more: Mini-kidney organoids re-create disease in lab dishes
The Latest on: Organoids
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Organoids” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Organoids
- Global Organoids and Spheroids Market: Journey to US$4,567.0 Million Revenue by 2031on May 8, 2024 at 12:45 am
Global Organoids and Spheroids Market was valued at US$ 771.4 million in 2022 and is projected to attain a valuation of US$ 4,567.0 Million by 2031 at a CAGR of 22.42% During the Forecast Period ...
- Human Organoids Market CAGR of 17.5%, Big Money to be Made as Market Size Continues to Surgeon May 5, 2024 at 3:05 pm
Human Organoids Market is valued approximately at USD 723.40 million in 2019 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 17.5% over the forecast period 2020-2027. Organoids are ...
- Fetal Organoids Generated From Human Amniotic Fluidon May 2, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Over the last decade, organoids have become an increasingly popular platform for modeling organ function and disease. 3 However, the generation of fetal organoids is complicated by ethical and legal ...
- Scientists develop new organoid model to study thymus functionon April 29, 2024 at 8:08 am
Researchers from the Organoid group have developed a new organoid model that can be used to study the thymus. The organoids are derived from mouse thymus tissue, specifically model thymic epithelial ...
- Lab-made miniorgans take scientists a step closer to curing canceron April 25, 2024 at 8:34 am
In the fight to cure cancer, scientists need better models. And they might just get them — human-derived organoids — thanks to light.
- Brain organoids target rare neurological disorderon April 24, 2024 at 8:00 am
Scientists have devised a potential therapy for a rare neurological disease using brain tissue derived from human stem cells, raising hopes that so-called organoid technology can target other ...
- Brain organoids target rare neurological disorderon April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The researchers transplanted so-called brain organoids derived from the stem cells of Timothy syndrome sufferers into the brains of young rats, according to results published in Nature on Wednesday.
- Mini-colon and brain ‘organoids’ shed light on cancer and other diseaseson April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
When the researchers injected the cancerous cells into mice, the tumours looked similar to those seen in human colorectal cancer. The organoids accumulated fewer tumours when the researchers ...
- Human Lung Organoids Mimic Animal Response to Nanomaterialson April 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Though not expected to replace animal models completely, human organoids could soon lead to significant reductions in research animal numbers, the team led by cell biologist and nanotoxicologist Dr ...
- Human Organoids Market Projected to Reach $2,124.91 million by 2030 - Exclusive Report by 360iResearchon April 11, 2024 at 5:00 pm
PUNE, India, April 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The report titled "Human Organoids Market by Product (Colorectal, Heart, Kidney), Usability (Customizable Products, Ready to Use Products), Application ...
via Bing News