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Crafting Kidneys
24 November 2013

Crafting Kidneys

Scientists can now regenerate rat kidneys. Stripping out cells from dead kidneys to leave only a scaffold of connective tissue, they repopulate these frameworks (close up, left) with cells from humans and newborn rats, and nurture the mixtures in bioreactors designed to ape the in-body environment (right). After five days, these concoctions transform into rudimentary kidneys with all the right cells in all the right places. And when they’re transplanted into living rats, the restored organs filter toxins from blood and produce urine, albeit nowhere near as effectively as normal kidneys. The leap from proof of concept to human clinical use is huge, of course. But if the technique can be refined and scaled-up to produce adult human kidneys – perhaps by seeding scaffolds from pig kidneys, which are readily available, with human cells – it could provide life-saving replacements for people with kidney disease.

Written by Daniel Cossins

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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