Project description:The Health and Environmental Sciences Institute initiated a cross-laboratory program to identify and characterize microRNA (miRNA) patterns reflecting nephron-specific localization in naïve adult male Sprague-Dawley rats.
Project description:We aimed to identify urinary exosomal ncRNAs as novel biomarkers for diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) for this, we examined 15 exosomal ncRNA profiles in urine samples from CKD patients from four different stages (I, II, III and IV) and compared them to 10 healthy controls. We identified a significant number of novel, differentially expressed ncRNAs in CKD patients compared to healthy, which might be employed as early diagnostic markers in CKD in the future.
Project description:mIRNA expression profiling of mouse embryonic nephron progenitors at embryonic day 14 isolated by GFP expression driven by Six2-TGC (transgenic mouse line), compared to whole embryonic kidney at day 14
Project description:Using renal ischemia-reperfusion injury as a model of acute kidney injury, we deteremined temporally-released miRNAs released in urinary exosomes during the injury
Project description:Nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) self-renew and differentiate into nephrons, the functional units of the kidney. Here we report manipulation of p38 and YAP activity creates a synthetic niche that allows the long-term clonal expansion of primary mouse and human NPCs, and induced NPCs (iNPCs) from human pluripotent stem cells. Cultured iNPCs resemble closely primary human NPCs, generating nephron organoids with abundant distal convoluted tubule cells, which are not observed in published kidney organoids. The synthetic niche reprograms differentiated nephron cells into NPC state, recapitulating the plasticity of developing nephron in vivo. Scalability and ease of genome-editing in the cultured NPCs allow for genome-wide CRISPR screening, identi-fying novel genes associated with kidney development and disease. A rapid, efficient, and scala-ble organoid model for polycystic kidney disease was derived directly from genome-edited NPCs, and validated in drug screen. These technological platforms have broad applications to kidney development, disease, plasticity, and regeneration.
Project description:The kidney contains the functional units, the nephrons, surrounded by the renal interstitium. Previously, we discovered that, once Six2-expressing nephron progenitor cells and Foxd1-expressing renal interstitial progenitor cells form at the onset of kidney development, descendant cells from these populations contribute exclusively to the main body of nephrons and renal interstitial tissues, respectively, indicating a lineage boundary between the nephron and renal interstitial compartments. Currently, it is unclear how lineages are regulated during kidney organogenesis. We demonstrate that nephron progenitor cells lacking Pax2 activity failed to differentiate into nephron cells, but can switch fates into renal interstitium cell types. These data suggest that Pax2 function maintains nephron progenitor cells by repressing transdifferentiation into renal interstitial cell states. Thus, the lineage boundary between the nephron and renal interstitial compartments is maintained by the Pax2 activity in nephron progenitor cells during kidney organogenesis.