Key points from article :
Cell sourcing is a particularly difficult challenge for kidney tissue engineering.
Researchers have discovered kidney progenitor cells excreted in urine.
These cells were collected from urine samples of 10 individuals aged 21-61 years.
Displayed a healthy morphology and proliferation rate in vitro.
Exhibited several kidney-specific markers.
MSC-like phenotypes were also identified from this cell population.
Urine-derived nature of these cells doesn’t negatively impact their potential for regenerative medicine.
These progenitor cells were also able to differentiate into kidney epithelial proximal tubular cells.
Research by Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf published in Scientific Reports.
