Stem Cell Model For Human Kidney Fibrosis
With ~700 million individuals affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) globally and no antifibrotic treatment currently approved for CKD patients, there is an urgent need to develop better models of human fibrotic kidneys to accelerate the discovery of novel therapies. In this regard, organoids have a proven ability to replicate aspects of genetic kidney disease and are amenable to high throughput screening. However, complex processes such as fibrosis or CKD have not been comprehensively modelled with this in vitro approach. Here, we aim to generate the first human-derived in vitro 3D model of renal fibrosis, a common hallmark in CKD and end-stage renal disease patients, that would represent a significant advance for drug development and testing in this field. It will involve cutting edge organoid culture, imaging, and single cell transcriptional profiling.