Evaluation of the Permeability of Cell Barriers Constituted of Kidney Organoid-Derived Glomerulus

The kidneys are responsible for the filtration of blood. This function is performed by a specific structure called the glomerular filtration barrier. This filtration barrier is known to be disrupted and irreversibly damaged by several diseases and drugs. Therefore, the development of on-chip glomeruli using functional glomerular cells may provide a useful basis for assessing nephrotoxicity in drug screening. In this study, we constructed cellular barriers on the device using human hiPS cell-derived glomerular epithelial cells and evaluated the functionality of the device by filtration of fluorescently labeled inulin and albumin. Inulin was filtrated faster than albumin at the cell barrier constructed in the device. We replicated the selective filtration function of the glomerular filtration barrier, which will be applicable to nephrotoxicity evaluation in vitro.