Lab-Grown Kidneys Function in Rats

Lab-Grown Kidneys Function in Rats

Scientists have created artificial kidneys that can filter blood and produce urine when transplanted into rats. With further development, this approach could help the many patients who await organ transplants because their own kidneys no longer work.

End-stage kidney disease, or renal failure, affects nearly 1 million people nationwide. Left untreated, it causes the body to retain excess water and waste products. Renal failure can be reversed by kidney transplants from well-matched donors. But about 1 in 5 recipients has problems with organ rejection within 5 years, and there aren’t enough donated kidneys to meet demand. About 100,000 people in the U. S. are now on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

To provide new options for these patients, researchers have been exploring techniques for creating artificial kidneys and other organs. One promising approach uses detergents to delicately strip cells from organs, leaving behind a protein-based scaffold that wouldn’t be rejected by a recipient’s immune system. hese decellularized organs are then seeded, or repopulated, with living cells. The method has been used by different research teams in efforts to create nonhuman bioengineered hearts, livers and lungs.

Dr. Harald C. Ott and his colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital created bioengineered kidneys by using a decellularization technology Ott had previously developed. Their research was funded in part by an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award and by NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Nature Medicine.


 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

A rat kidney in a bioreactor.The scientists first tested their approach by decellularizing kidneys from rats, pigs and human cadavers. They confirmed that the fine architecture of the kidneys remained intact, including the framework for tiny blood vessels and filtering systems.

To regenerate functional rat kidneys, the researchers mounted the decellularized organs within vacuum chambers to help draw new cells into the proper locations. Blood vessel linings were restored by delivering endothelial cells via the renal artery, which normally carries blood to the kidney. Remaining kidney tissues were populated by delivering newborn rat kidney cells via the ureter, which normally carries away urine.

The seeded scaffolds were then grown for several days in a nutrient-rich bioreactor. The reactor chamber mimicked conditions inside the body. The scientists showed that the resulting organs could perform kidney-like functions. The organs filtered fluids and generated urine in culture. When transplanted into rats, the artificial kidneys produced urine and successfully filtered out and reabsorbed certain molecules. But the regenerated kidneys didn’t work as well as normal kidney transplants.

Ott says the technique might be further improved by refining the cell types used for seeding and by changing the culture conditions. Based on this initial proof of principle, we hope that bioengineered kidneys will someday be able to fully replace kidney function just as donor kidneys do,” says Ott. He and his colleagues are now developing techniques for creating human-sized organs. Article Source: NIH Research Matters

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English Afrikaans Arabic Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Malay Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese

follow InnerSelf on

facebook icontwitter iconyoutube iconinstagram iconpintrest iconrss icon

 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:13

How to train your body for hot weather if you are active or work outdoors Heat exposure is inevitable for those who work or are active outdoors. (Shutterstock) Global warming is making outdoor...

Wednesday, 28 April 2021 08:57

Replenishing antioxidants in the body may help protect against oxidative stress and lower the risk of cancer

Wednesday, 26 July 2023 12:55

With the rising cost of living, gyms memberships and fitness classes are becoming increasingly unaffordable. But the good news is you can make just as much progress at home.

Friday, 28 July 2023 17:45

Respiratory viruses like influenza virus (flu), SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can make us sick by infecting our respiratory system, including the nose, upper...

Friday, 14 May 2021 16:24

The chakras set the frequencies that give rise to every aspect of the human experience. The foods we eat have consciousness and provide an energetic blueprint that stabilizes and entrains...

Sunday, 23 May 2021 08:15

We sometimes need to use antibiotics to treat sick animals, but taking advantage of opportunities to reduce antibiotics use could benefit everyone

New Attitudes - New Possibilities

InnerSelf.comClimateImpactNews.com | InnerPower.net
MightyNatural.com | WholisticPolitics.com | InnerSelf Market
Copyright ©1985 - 2021 InnerSelf Publications. All Rights Reserved.