Urogenital models articles from across Nature Portfolio

The lack of animal models for some human diseases precludes our understanding of disease mechanisms and our ability to test new therapies in vivo. Here the authors present a tissue bioengineering strategy for the study of a rare kidney tumor called angiomyolipoma, in vitro and in vivo, using patient-derived hiPSCs.

Human kidneys have many features in common with those of other species, but also unique properties. A detailed human–mouse comparison of the genetic programme governing early events in nephron formation has revealed interspecies differences that could explain how nephron number in adult kidneys is determined.