Contribution of Stem Cells to Kidney Repair

Abstract

The potential role of stem cells in the repair of glomerular and tubular injury is under intensive investigation. Several studies have addressed the role of endogenous bone-marrow (BM)-derived stem cells (SC) in the repair of renal injury. Some reports indicate that BM-derived SC are capable of engraftment into damaged nephrons, although the lineage of SC recruited has not been established. However, this issue remains highly controversial, and several studies point to a paracrine/endocrine action of endogenous SC rather than a direct repopulation of the injured nephron. Administration of exogenous mesenchymal SC in experimental acute kidney injury suggests that an SC-based therapy may improve functional and structural recovery of both glomerular and tubular compartments. A contribution of renal resident SC has also been postulated in the recovery after damage. However, several points still need to be clarified regarding the signals regulating homing of SC to injured tissue, the secreted factors underlying the paracrine/endocrine mechanisms, and in particular the long-term in vivo behavior of the administered SC. This review summarizes the current literature on the physiological role of endogenous SC in renal regeneration and on the potential therapeutic strategies based on the administration of exogenous SC.

14S,21R-dihydroxy-docosahexaenoic Acid Treatment Enhances Mesenchymal Stem Cell Amelioration of Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

“…Recent studies have ascribed reparative effects of MSCs to their endocrine/paracrine functions [15][16][17][18][19]. MSCs can generate different cytokines and growth factors that are important to injury recovery [17,57,62,63], including renotrophic factors IGF-1 and HGF (Fig. 8).…”

“…MSCs generate an array of cytokines and growth factors [15,56] that protect kidneys from injuries [15][16][17]57]. Therefore, we postulated that 14S,21R-diHDHA treatment enhanced the beneficial effects of MSCs by augmenting their secretion of renotrophic factors.…”

A Paediatric Perspective on Stem Cells: Expression, Function and Clinical Relevance

“…In the second half of gestation, the AF is constituted by fetal urine, gastrointestinal excretions, respiratory secretions, and substances exchanged through the sac membranes [14][15][16].…”

Transplantation of Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells Reduces Mortality and Improves Renal Function on Mercury-Induced Kidney Injury in Mice

“…The dose of HgCl 2 was determined in accordance with preliminary experiments and corresponds to a lethal dose 90% (LD90). We determined the serum mercuric concentration by atomic absorption spectrophotometer PerkinElmer 1.100 B (PerkinElmer, Shelton, CT) at different time points (3,6, and 12 h).…”

“…4,5 Recent experimental data have indicated that bone marrow cells migrate to the kidney lesions, ameliorate renal function, and reduce tubular injury in AKI, through differentiation within the tubular compartment and by secreting growth and trophic factors. 6 In addition, infusion of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells may contribute to improvement of kidney lesions by a paracrine action. 7 Therefore, cell therapy utilizing adult bone marrow-derived cells has appeared as an alternative therapeutic strategy to treat renal diseases.…”