HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kim, S.-S. Articles by Kim, B.-S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Kim, S.-S. Articles by Kim, B.-S.

TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

Kidney Tissue Reconstruction by Fetal Kidney Cell Transplantation: Effect of Gestation Stage of Fetal Kidney Cells

^aDepartment of Bioengineering and
^bDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea;
^cDepartment of Pathology and
^dDepartment of Urology, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea;
^eDepartment of Pathology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea;
^fChabiotech Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea;
^gCHA Stem Cell Institute, Pochon CHA University, Seoul, Korea

Key Words. Fetal kidney cells • Gestation stage • Kidney failure • Kidney tissue reconstruction

Correspondence: Byung-Soo Kim, Ph.D., Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-ku, Seoul 133-791, Korea. Telephone: +82-2-2220-0491; Fax: +82-2-2291-0838; e-mail: bskim{at}hanyang.ac.kr

Received March 28, 2006; accepted for publication February 15, 2007.


Dialysis and kidney transplantation, current therapies for kidney failure, have limitations such as severe complications, donor shortage, and immune-related problems. The development of an alternative treatment for kidney failure is demanded. The present study shows that the transplantation of fetal kidney cells reconstitutes functional kidney tissue, and that the gestation stage of kidney cells influences the kidney reconstitution. Fetal kidney cells were isolated from metanephroi of rat fetuses at various gestation stages and transplanted into the omentum or kidney of immunodeficient mice. Immunophenotype analysis of fetal kidney cells showed apparent expression of stem cell markers. Three weeks after transplantation, histological analyses of retrieved grafts revealed the formation of kidney structures, including fluorescently labeled transplanted cells, suggesting the potential of fetal kidney cells to reconstitute kidney tissues. The grafts retrieved from omentum contained cystic fluids with concentrated solutes. However, transplanted early fetal kidney cells had also differentiated into nonrenal tissues such as bone and cartilage. In addition, transplantation of fetal kidney cells from a later gestation stage resulted in poor kidney structure formation. Kidney-specific genes were strongly expressed in the earlier cell transplants. The cells at an earlier gestation stage had higher colony forming ability than the cells at a later stage. This study demonstrates the reconstitution of kidney tissue by transplanting fetal kidney cells and the presence of an optimal time window in which fetal kidney cells regenerate kidney tissues.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.