Longevity Science- Scientists grow mini-kidney in lab using human skin cells
In an exciting research breakthrough in human cell therapy a team from the University of Queensland has created a mini kidney from a patients skin cells.
The news release, announced that one of their research teams had created a live mini-kidney formed in a dish from human induced pluripotent stem cells which were created from a patients skin cells (my note: Pluripotent stem cells are master cells able to make cells from all basic body layers, so they can potentially produce any cell or tissue the body needs to repair itself. Like all stem cells, pluripotent stem cells are able to self-renew, meaning they can perpetually create more copies of themselves).
Professor Melissa Little, the head of the research team said that “The first mini-kidney we grew only contained two key cell types. But the team have now grown an organ that forms all the cell types normally present in the human kidney.”
Longevity Science_Professor Little also said that “the breakthrough could allow the use of mini-organs to screen drugs to treat kidney disease or find out if a new drug is likely to injure the kidney” and that “Creating a model kidney containing many different kidney cell types also opens the door for cell therapy and even bio-engineering of replacement kidneys.”
“Making stem cells from patients with kidney disease, and then growing a mini-kidney that matches the patient, will help us understand that patient’s disease and develop treatments for them,” Professor Little said.
In Conclusion
One of the key tasks I have set for myself is to keep you updated as developments occur in Longevity Science. So when I see something that appears to my untrained eye to be significant, I am sharing it with you.
I am trying to keep my articles as simple as possible, but where necessary I will add my own note to allow normal human beings (like me) to understand.
This study, was published this week in the highly prestigious “Nature” magazine
You can read the full news release here be sure to watch the short video where Professor Little explains the methodology (in plain English)
