Kidney transplantation remains the most effective treatment for end-stage kidney disease, but a severe shortage of donor organs continues to limit access for millions of patients worldwide, according to a June 11 report. With demand for kidney transplants expected to reach 5 million patients by 2030 and only a fraction of that need currently being met, researchers are exploring innovative approaches to generate transplantable organs.
In a study published in Stem Cell Reports, Shunsuke Yuri of the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Japan, and Ayako Isotani of the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, successfully generated rat-derived kidneys in mice using interspecies blastocyst complementation. The researchers created mouse embryos genetically unable to form kidneys, leaving a developmental niche that could be filled by injected embryonic stem cells. When rat embryonic stem cells were introduced into these embryos, they contributed extensively to kidney formation—particularly nephron progenitor cells and ureteric bud lineages—resulting in the generation of a rat cell-derived kidney.
Although the interspecies embryos did not survive to birth, preventing assessment of kidney function, the study demonstrates the potential of using one species to generate organs from another. The findings represent an important step toward future efforts to grow transplantable human organs in larger animals such as pigs.
The long-term goal is helping address the global shortage of donor kidneys.
