Scientists from the Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have made an exciting discovery, isolating human kidney progenitor cells without genetic manipulation using a novel in vivo technique. These nephrogenic progenitor cells (NPs) give rise to mature nephrons, the key filtering units in the kidney. Although scientists have studied NPs in mice, this breakthrough in human NPs paves the way for greater understanding of kidney development and organ regeneration. Principal investigator Laura Perin, Ph.D., co-director of CHLA’s GOFARR Laboratory for Organ Regenerative Research and Cell Therapeutics in Urology, is also a member of UKRO’s Medical Scientific Advisory Board. According to Perin, researchers studying other types of organs can also use this new approach. “This technique provides a ‘how to’ of human tissue during development,” she said.
Source:
Human Kidney Progenitors Isolated, Offering New Clues to Cell Renewal, Newswise, September 12, 2016