Pathology Presents: Modeling Renal Pathophysiology with Human Kidney Organoids Derived from Pluripotent Stem Cells

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Speaker

Benjamin Freedman, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine
University of Washington

Faculty Sponsor

Charles Alpers, MD


Date & Time

December 13, 2017 at 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Location

Health Sciences Building, T-739


Description

Modeling Renal Pathophysiology with Human Kidney Organoids Derived from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Benjamin Freedman, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine,
University of Washington School of Medicine

Organoids are multicellular units in vitro that resemble a tissue or organ of the body. Recently, we have generated kidney organoids for the first time, starting with human pluripotent stem cells. Kidney organoids include proximal tubules, distal tubules, and podocytes in nephron-like segments, recapitulating key architectural features of human tissue. Using the CRISPR-Cas gene editing system, we have further generated mutant organoids that express phenotypes of glomerular disease and polycystic kidney disease in vitro. Organoids raise new possibilities for understanding human disease at the cellular level for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.