Scientists combine kidney filtering and urine-concentrating components to create “assembloids,” the most mature and complex kidney structures ever grown in a lab and a tool for developing new therapies.
A USC Stem Cell-led research team has achieved a major step forward in the effort to build mouse and human synthetic kidneys. In a new paper published in Cell Stem Cell, the scientists describe generating more mature and complex lab-grown kidney structures, or organoids, than ever before.
“This is a revolutionary tool for creating more accurate models for studying kidney disease, which affects one in seven adults,” said corresponding author Zhongwei Li, associate professor of medicine, and stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “It’s also a milestone towards our long-term goal of building a functional synthetic kidney for the more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. awaiting transplant—the only cure for end-stage kidney disease.”
To read more, visit https://stemcell.keck.usc.edu/team-makes-major-advance-toward-building-a-synthetic-kidney.