The potential of small chemical functional groups for directing the differentiation of kidney stem cells

Abstract

In the future, stem-cell-based therapies could offer new approaches to treat kidney disease and reduce the incidence of ESRD (end-stage renal disease), but, as yet, research in this area is only being conducted in rodents and it is not clear whether or when it could be applied to human patients. Drug therapies, on the other hand, have been very effective at delaying the progression of kidney disease, but, for various reasons, current drug regimes are not suitable for all patients. A greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie disease progression in chronic kidney disease could help to identify novel drug targets. However, progress in this area is currently hindered due to the lack of appropriate in vitro culture systems for important renal cell types, such as proximal tubule cells and podocytes. This problem could be overcome if it were possible to direct the differentiation of kidney stem cells to renal cell types in vitro. In the present review, we highlight the potential of surface gradients of small chemical functional groups to direct the differentiation of kidney stem cells.

Perspective on Plasma Polymers for Applied Biomaterials Nanoengineering and the Recent Rise of Oxazolines

“…The resulting coatings present distinctive chemical functions, namely, amines, hydroxyls, carboxylic acids, ketones, etc. These plasma polymers have been used as a utility to investigate the systematic effect of surface chemistry on many biological processes including the biofunctionality of surface-adsorbed proteins [40], the differentiation of embryonic [79], kidney [80], dental pulp [81], mesenchymal [82] and human adipose-derived stem cells [83,84] as well as the deposition of collagen by primary human dermal fibroblasts [85]. Using the reactivity of the chemical groups created, it is also possible to bind ligands and even proteins to create diagnostic tools [40,86,87,88,89].…”

Plasma Polymer Coatings To Direct the Differentiation of Mouse Kidney-Derived Stem Cells into Podocyte and Proximal Tubule-like Cells

“…Most patients with CKD will die of cardiovascular disease, and those that survive are likely to progress to end stage kidney disease (ESKD), requiring dialysis or renal transplantation. Currently, understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie kidney disease and the development of novel drug therapies is challenging because of the lack of appropriate renal culture systems . The availability of culture systems comprising podocytes and proximal tubule cells (PTC) would be of particular value given that these two cell types are affected in most types of kidney disease. , Podocytes (visceral epithelial cells) are highly complex cells that form an essential part of the glomerular filtration barrier, whereas PTCs are crucial for the reabsorption of molecules from the urinary filtrate and the excretion of organic anions and cations. , A problem with culturing these cell types in vitro is that podocytes are terminally differentiated cells with no scale-up potential, and PTCs only maintain their functionality and differentiated phenotype for a few days following isolation from the kidney .…”

Silver nanoparticle modified surfaces induce differentiation of mouse kidney-derived stem cells

“…Although current therapeutic interventions slow down the progression of CKD to ESRD, the current state of treatment does not generate satisfactory outcomes in all patients. 14 Therefore, it is extremely important to develop new treatment strategies where stem cells can be directed to differentiate to specialized renal cell types that could be useful to treat CKD in order to prevent ESRD progression.…”

“… 19,20 Recent reports have also demonstrated that the chemistry and nanotopography of cell culture surfaces regulate the proliferation and differentiation of various stem cell lines. 14,21,22 MacGregor-Ramiasa et al have investigated the effect of concentration gradient of –NH 2 functional groups on the differentiation of a clonal kidney stem cell (mKSCs) line derived from neonatal mouse kidney. Differentiation of proximal-tubule-like cells was observed on the surfaces with low amine content by the expression of specific markers.…”