Isolated populations of adult renal cells and methods of isolating and using same

Abstract

A method of generating a nephrospheroid is disclosed. The method comprises culturing human adult kidney cells in a culture medium under non-adherent conditions. Uses thereof and other renal cell populations are also disclosed.

Description

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to isolated populations of adult renal cells and methods of isolating and using same.[0002]The kidney is a vital organ in mammals, responsible for fluid homeostasis, waste excretion, and hormone production. There are a variety of possible injuries and disorders including cancer, trauma, infection, inflammation and iatrogenic injuries or conditions that can lead to chronic disease or cause reduction or loss of function of a kidney. The incidence of chronic kidney disease in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, and a significant number of these patients will develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD), with glomerular filtration rates too low to sustain life. Dialysis is the major treatment modality for ESRD, but it has significant limitations in terms of morbidity, mortality, and cost. Allogenic kidney transplantation provides significant benefits in terms of mortality and...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is about a type of kidney cell that can form into a three-dimensional structure called a nephrospheroid. These cells have higher levels of certain proteins, such as sal1, pax2, six2, and WT1, compared to cells that grow in a flat layer. This suggests that the nephrospheroid cells may have greater potential to develop into kidney cells than adult kidney cells.

Problems solved by technology

The incidence of chronic kidney disease in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, and a significant number of these patients will develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD), with glomerular filtration rates too low to sustain life.

Dialysis is the major treatment modality for ESRD, but it has significant limitations in terms of morbidity, mortality, and cost.

Allogenic kidney transplantation provides significant benefits in terms of mortality and is ultimately less costly, but is hampered by a severe shortage of available donor organs.

There is a decrease in functioning nephrons with the progression of the disease; the remaining nephrons come under more stress to compensate for the functional loss, thereby increasing the probability of more nephron loss and thus creating a vicious cycle.

Furthermore, unlike tissues such as bone or glandular epithelia which retain significant capacity for regeneration, it has generally been believed that new nephron units are not produced after birth, that the ability of the highly differentiated tissues and structures of the kidneys have limited reparative powers and, therefore, that mammals possess a number of nephron units that can only decline during post-natal life.

In contrast to these rapidly-cycling organs, the kidney has a low rate of cell turnover under steady state conditions and it's regenerative capacity is limited.

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