Generate vascularized kidney organoids for studying kidney development

Abstract

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)-derived organoids recapitulate organ architecture and development processes. Here we employ a hPSCs-derived three-dimensional (3D) kidney organoid platform to study human kidney development in vitro, which cannot be realized otherwise due to ethical considerations. Using this platform, we demonstrate that a subpopulation of nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) display similar property of vascular progenitors, which eventually differentiate to renal endothelial cells in both in vitro differentiation and in vivo development. Based on this platform, we further develop an approach to modulate the differentiation of nephron compartments via manipulating metabolic pathway. Overall, hPSCs-derived kidney organoids offer new avenues for studying renal lineage specification, as well as for disease modeling in an organ-specific manner.