Chalk up another first for stem cells. Researchers at Kyoto University, Japan, have successfully generated kidney tissue from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). Kenji Osafune, associate professor at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application and his colleagues, generated part of a urinary tubule using iPS cells.
By adding several substances to iPS cells, the Osafune team succeeded in generating intermediate mesoderm tissue, of which kidneys are largely composed, after 11 days of cultivation. They reported a success rate of more than 90%. The team then cultivated the intermediate mesoderm with kidney cells from a mouse embryo to produce part of the structure of a urinary tubule.
Evidence that the generated tissue was part of a tubule structure came when it generated a protein called LTL, which is characteristic of urinary tubules. Researchers also confirmed that they had generated other kidney cells such as glomerular podocytes and tubule cells. According to The Japan Times Online, researchers believe that the team’s success is the first step toward transplanting kidney tissue generated from iPS cells.
