Human kidney organoids produce functional renin

Background & Aim Renin production by the kidney dictates salt, volume, and blood pressure homeostasis. There is a worldwide increase in end stage kidney disease patients that are dependent on dialysis or kidney transplantation. Novel methods to replace non-functional kidney are warranted. Recently, protocols for the generation of kidney organoids from human iPSC have been developed. In order to study the potential of kidney organoids to replace the endocrine system in an injured kidney, we examined the presence of renin-producing cells in kidney organoids. Methods, Results & Conclusion To confirm that we could generate kidney organoids, single cell analysis of an organoid after 25 days of culture was performed. Kidney-specific cell populations consisting of podocytes, proximal tubular cells, distal tubular cells, stromal cells and endothelial cells were revealed. Subsequently, the presence of these cell types was confirmed in situ using immunohistochemistry. During differentiation renin-producing cells appear in this cluster, which contains cells characteristic of pericytes. The addition of the cyclic AMP-elevating agent forskolin to the culture for 24 hours further increased mRNA expression of renin up to 1000-fold (p