Kidneys keep the body in balance by filtering blood and removing waste. In disease, this function is lost and patients may need dialysis or a transplant to survive. Our lab grows kidney organoids as alternative to donor organs. Working organoids must form tubes that carry urine away from the filtering units. Our goal is to connect these organoids with host tissue and create working kidney tissue.
Impact
Kidney patients often rely on transplants, yet the need for donor kidneys far exceeds availability. Stem cells offer a promising way to bridge this gap, as they can become any cell type in the human body, including kidney cells. By creating transplantable kidney tissue from stem cells, we could potentially solve this organ shortage.
reNEW research
At reNEW we work on improving kidney organoids growth and study their behavior after transplantation. In the lab these tubes remain immature, but after transplantation they start to function: tubes open and allow waste products to pass through. We are now testing if a connection between the host and the kidney organoids develop, so the urine (formed in the kidney organoid) flows to the bladder.
Image description
This 3D picture shows tubes starting to mature, spreading out and branching like a cherry blossom tree.
Credits
Roos-Sanne Verkerk, Research Technician, Rianne van Nieuwland, Research Technician, Cathelijne van den Berg, Associate investigator, Rabelink Lab, reNEW Leiden.
