Open AccessStudying Kidney Disease Using Tissue and Genome Engineering in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Author(s) -
Elena Garreta,
Federico González,
Núria Montserrat
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the nephron journals/nephron journals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 2235-3186
pISSN - 1660-8151
DOI - 10.1159/000480710
Subject(s) - induced pluripotent stem cell , crispr , genome editing , zebrafish , organoid , biology , polycystic kidney disease , genome engineering , computational biology , kidney , embryonic stem cell , genetics , gene
Kidney morphogenesis and patterning have been extensively studied in animal models such as the mouse and zebrafish. These seminal studies have been key to define the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex multistep process. Based on this knowledge, the last 3 years have witnessed the development of a cohort of protocols allowing efficient differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) towards defined kidney progenitor populations using two-dimensional (2D) culture systems or through generating organoids. Kidney organoids are three-dimensional (3D) kidney-like tissues, which are able to partially recapitulate kidney structure and function in vitro. The current possibility to combine state-of-the art tissue engineering with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated systems 9 (Cas9)-mediated genome engineering provides an unprecedented opportunity for studying kidney disease with hPSCs. Recently, hPSCs with genetic mutations introduced through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering have shown to produce kidney organoids able to recapitulate phenotypes of polycystic kidney disease and glomerulopathies. This mini review provides an overview of the most recent advances in differentiation of hPSCs into kidney lineages, and the latest implementation of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology in the organoid setting, as promising platforms to study human kidney development and disease.