Ureteric bud structures generated from human iPSCs

Abstract The ureteric bud (UB) is an embryonic kidney progenitor tissue that repeats branching morphogenesis to develop the collecting ducts and lower urinary tracts. Although recent progress in kidney regeneration using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has enabled the production of nephron organoids, UB induction methods from hPSCs are still developing. In this chapter, we will first introduce UB development and summarize recent studies including ours that have established differentiation methods from hPSCs for UB-lineage cells. Then we will discuss the hurdles to overcome in UB differentiation research and future perspectives on generating the collecting ducts, lower urinary tracts, and disease models.