A Novel Strategy to Enhance Mesenchymal Stem Cell Migration Capacity and Promote Tissue Repair in an Injury Specific Fashion

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Renal progenitors derived from human iPSCs engraft and restore function in a mouse model of acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most relevant health issues, leading to millions of deaths. The magnitude of the phenomenon remarks the urgent need for innovative and effective therapeutic approaches. Cell-based therapy with renal progenitor cells (RPCs) has been proposed as a possible strategy. Studies have shown the feasibility of directing embryonic stem cells or induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) towards nephrogenic intermediate mesoderm and metanephric mesenchyme (MM). However, the functional activity of iPSC-derived RPCs has not been tested in animal models of kidney disease. Here, through an efficient inductive protocol, we directed human iPSCs towards RPCs that robustly engrafted into damaged tubuli and restored renal function and structure in cisplatin-mice with AKI. These results demonstrate that iPSCs are a valuable source of engraftable cells with regenerative activity for kidney disease and create the basis for future applications in stem cell-based therapy

Current Bioengineering and Regenerative Strategies for the Generation of Kidney Grafts on Demand

[EN] Currently in the USA, one name is added to the organ transplant waiting list every 15 min. As this list grows rapidly, fewer than one-third of waiting patients can receive matched organs from donors. Unfortunately, many patients who require a transplant have to wait for long periods of time, and many of them die before receiving the desired organ. In the USA alone, over 100,000 patients are waiting for a kidney transplant. However, it is a problem that affects around 6% of the word population. Therefore, seeking alternative solutions to this problem is an urgent work. Here, we review the current promising regenerative technologies for kidney function replacement. Despite many approaches being applied in the different ways outlined in this work, obtaining an organ capable of performing complex functions such as osmoregulation, excretion or hormone synthesis is still a long-term goal. However, in the future, the efforts in these areas may eliminate the long waiting list for kidney transplants, providing a definitive solution for patients with end-stage renal disease.This study was supported by a grant from ALCER-TURIA, ASTELLAS and PRECIPITA CROWDFUNDING.Garcia-Dominguez, X.; Vicente Antón, JS.; Vera Donoso, CD.; Marco-Jiménez, F. (2017). Current Bioengineering and Regenerative Strategies for the Generation of Kidney Grafts on Demand. Current Urology Reports. 18(1):1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-017-0650-6S18181Ott HC, Mathisen DJ. Bioartificial tissues and organs: are we ready to translate? Lancet. 2011;378:1977–8.Salvatori M, Peloso A, Katari R, Orlando G. Regeneration and bioengineering of the kidney: current status and future challenges. Curr Urol Rep. 2014;15:379.D’Agati VD. Growing new kidneys from embryonic cell suspensions: fantasy or reality? J Am Soc Nephrol. 2002;11:1763–6.Abouna GM. Organ shortage crisis: problems and possible solutions. 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Engineering kidneys from simple cell suspensions:an exercise in self-organization

Increasing numbers of people approaching and living with end-stage renal disease and failure of the supply of transplantable kidneys to keep pace has created an urgent need for alternative sources of new organs. One possibility is tissue engineering of new organs from stem cells. Adult kidneys are arguably too large and anatomically complex for direct construction, but engineering immature kidneys, transplanting them, and allowing them to mature within the host may be more feasible. In this review, we describe a technique that begins with a suspension of renogenic stem cells and promotes these cells’ self-organization into organ rudiments very similar to foetal kidneys, with a collecting duct tree, nephrons, corticomedullary zonation and extended loops of Henle. The engineered rudiments vascularize when transplanted to appropriate vessel-rich sites in bird eggs or adult animals, and show preliminary evidence for physiological function. We hope that this approach might one day be the basis of a clinically useful technique for renal replacement therapy

Transport of organic anions and cations in murine embryonic kidney development and in serially-reaggregated engineered kidneys

Recent advances in renal tissue engineering have shown that dissociated, early renogenic tissue from the developing embryo can self-assemble into morphologically accurate kidney-like organs arranged around a central collecting duct tree. In order for such self-assembled kidneys to be useful therapeutically or as models for drug screening, it is necessary to demonstrate that they are functional. One of the main functional characteristics of mature kidneys is transport of organic anions and cations into and out of the proximal tubule. Here, we show that the transport function of embryonic kidneys allowed to develop in culture follows a developmental time-course that is comparable to embryonic kidney development in vivo. We also demonstrate that serially-reaggregated engineered kidneys can transport organic anions and cations through specific uptake and efflux channels. These results support the physiological relevance of kidneys grown in culture, a commonly used model for kidney development and research, and suggest that serially-reaggregated kidneys self-assembled from separated cells have some functional characteristics of intact kidneys

Guided self-organization and cortical plate formation in human brain organoids.

Three-dimensional cell culture models have either relied on the self-organizing properties of mammalian cells or used bioengineered constructs to arrange cells in an organ-like configuration. While self-organizing organoids excel at recapitulating early developmental events, bioengineered constructs reproducibly generate desired tissue architectures. Here, we combine these two approaches to reproducibly generate human forebrain tissue while maintaining its self-organizing capacity. We use poly(lactide-co-glycolide) copolymer (PLGA) fiber microfilaments as a floating scaffold to generate elongated embryoid bodies. Microfilament-engineered cerebral organoids (enCORs) display enhanced neuroectoderm formation and improved cortical development. Furthermore, reconstitution of the basement membrane leads to characteristic cortical tissue architecture, including formation of a polarized cortical plate and radial units. Thus, enCORs model the distinctive radial organization of the cerebral cortex and allow for the study of neuronal migration. Our data demonstrate that combining 3D cell culture with bioengineering can increase reproducibility and improve tissue architecture

Organoid Models and Applications in Biomedical Research

Recent technical advances in the stem cell field have enabled the in vitro generation of complex structures resembling whole organs termed organoids. Most of these approaches employ three-dimensional (3D) culture systems that allow stem cell-derived or tissue progenitor cells to self-organize into 3D structures. These systems evolved, methodologically and conceptually, from classical reaggregation experiments, showing that dissociated cells from embryonic organs can reaggregate and re-create the original organ architecture. Since organoids can be grown from human stem cells and from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, they create significant prospects for modelling development and diseases, for toxicology and drug discovery studies, and in the field of regenerative medicine. Here, we outline historical advances in the field and describe some of the major recent developments in 3D human organoid formation. Finally, we underline current limitations and highlight examples of how organoid technology can be applied in biomedical research

Organoid Models and Applications in Biomedical Research

Recent technical advances in the stem cell field have enabled the in vitro generation of complex structures resembling whole organs termed organoids. Most of these approaches employ three-dimensional (3D) culture systems that allow stem cell-derived or tissue progenitor cells to self-organize into 3D structures. These systems evolved, methodologically and conceptually, from classical reaggregation experiments, showing that dissociated cells from embryonic organs can reaggregate and re-create the original organ architecture. Since organoids can be grown from human stem cells and from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, they create significant prospects for modelling development and diseases, for toxicology and drug discovery studies, and in the field of regenerative medicine. Here, we outline historical advances in the field and describe some of the major recent developments in 3D human organoid formation. Finally, we underline current limitations and highlight examples of how organoid technology can be applied in biomedical research

Thyroid hormone and myocardial ischaemia

Thyroid hormone has various effects on the cardiovascular system and its effects on cardiac contractility, heart rhythm and vascular function has long been recognized. However, new evidence is emerged on the importance of thyroid hormone in the response of the myocardium to ischaemic stress and cardiac remodelling following myocardial infarction. Based on this new information, this review highlights the role of thyroid hormone in myocardial ischaemia and cardiac remodelling, the possible underlying mechanisms and the potential therapeutic implications. Thyroid hormone or analogs may prove new therapeutic agents for treating ischaemic heart disease. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Thyroid Hormone Signalling: From the Dawn of Life to the Bedside

Thyroid hormone (TH) signalling is a key modulator of fundamental biological processes that has been evolutionarily conserved in both vertebrate and invertebrate species. TH may have initially emerged as a nutrient signal to convey environmental information to organisms to induce morpho-anatomical changes that could maximise the exploitation of environmental resources, and eventually integrated into the machinery of gene regulation and energy production to become a key regulator of development and metabolism. As such, TH signalling is particularly sensitive to environmental stimuli, and its alterations result in fundamental changes in homeostasis and physiology. Stressful stimuli of various origins lead to changes in the TH–TH receptor (TR) axis in different adult mammalian organs that are associated with phenotypical changes in terminally differentiated cells, the reactivation of foetal development programmes, structural remodelling and pathological growth. Here, we discuss the evolution of TH signalling, review evolutionarily conserved functions of THs in essential biological processes, such as metamorphosis and perinatal development, and analyse the role of TH signalling in the phenotypical and morphological changes that occur after injury, repair and regeneration in adult mammalian organs. Finally, we examine the potential of TH treatment as a therapeutic strategy for improving organ structure and functions following injury. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature