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Generating Human Glomeruli from Pluripotent Stem Cells for Disease Modelling and Drug Screening

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Kidney Research

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2664))

Abstract

The functional unit of human kidney is the nephron. This structure is composed of a glomerulus, connected to a tubule that drains into a collecting duct. The cells which make up the glomerulus are critically important to the appropriate function of this specialised structure. Damage to glomerular cells, particularly the podocytes, is the primary cause of numerous kidney diseases. However, access to and the subsequent culture of human glomerular cells is limited. As such, the ability to generate human glomerular cell types from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) at scale has garnered great interest. Here, we describe a method to isolate, culture and study 3D human glomeruli from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived kidney organoids in vitro. These 3D glomeruli retain appropriate transcriptional profiles and can be generated from any individual. As isolated glomeruli, they have applicability for disease modelling and drug discovery.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (DK107344) and the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia (GNT1098654). M.H.L is a Senior Principal Research Fellow of the NHMRC (GNT1136085). The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is supported by the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program.

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Correspondence to Melissa H. Little .

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

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Hale, L.J., Little, M.H. (2023). Generating Human Glomeruli from Pluripotent Stem Cells for Disease Modelling and Drug Screening. In: Hewitson, T.D., Toussaint, N.D., Smith, E.R. (eds) Kidney Research. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2664. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3179-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3179-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3178-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3179-9

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