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Therapeutic use of human renal progenitor cells for kidney regeneration

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 11, pages 695–706 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Key Points

  • Embryonic renal progenitor cells (RPCs) represent the prototype of the kidney cell population with nephrogenic potential, but the nephrogenic mesenchymal progenitor population is absent in the adult human kidney

  • In adults, RPCs seem to be segment-restricted, and several studies indicate that these cells arise through phenotypic plasticity of tubular cells; CD133+ cells with progenitor-like properties exist in all human nephron segments

  • Adult human RPCs obtained from different nephron segments or urine show therapeutic potential in acute tubular and glomerular damage, through paracrine mechanisms and differentiation

  • Adult and fetal RPCs show engraftment in glomeruli and tubules in preclinical models of chronic kidney disease; generation of patient-derived RPCs could enable autologous therapy that does not require immunosuppression

  • Intraparenchymal injection of differentiated adult renal cells seems to be beneficial in chronic kidney disease

  • The administration route of RPCs in cell therapy must be defined; tubular localization requires RPCs to passage through basal membranes, so local administration seems more feasible

Abstract

The ability of the human kidney to repair itself is limited. Consequently, repeated injury can trigger a maladaptive response that is characterized by fibrosis and loss of renal function. The transcription patterns that characterize nephrogenesis in fetal renal progenitor cells (RPCs) are only partially activated during renal repair in adults. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that segment-restricted progenitor resident cells support renal healing in adults. In this Review, we discuss the evidence for the existence of functional human RPCs in adults and their role in renal repair, and consider the controversial issue of whether RPCs are a fixed population or arise through phenotypical plasticity of tubular cells that is mediated by the microenvironment. We also discuss the strategies for generating renal progenitor cells from pluripotent stem cells or differentiated cells and their use in therapy. Finally, we examine preclinical data on the therapeutic use of human fetal cells, adult progenitor cells and adult renal cells.

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Figure 1: Localization of CD133+ renal progenitor cells and coexpressed markers in different nephron structures.
Figure 2: Potential strategies of cell therapy for kidney regeneration.

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  1. Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Torino, Via Nizza 52, 10126, Torino, Italy

    Benedetta Bussolati

  2. Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, Via Nizza 52, 10126, Torino, Italy

    Giovanni Camussi

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  1. Benedetta Bussolati
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Both authors contributed equally to all aspects of the article.

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Correspondence to Giovanni Camussi.

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Bussolati, B., Camussi, G. Therapeutic use of human renal progenitor cells for kidney regeneration. Nat Rev Nephrol 11, 695–706 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2015.126

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