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The Regenerative Potential of the Kidney: What Can We Learn from Developmental Biology?

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Abstract

Cell turnover in the healthy adult kidney is very slow but the kidney has a strong capacity for regeneration after acute injury. Although many molecular aspects of this process have been clarified, the source of the newly-formed renal epithelial cells is still being debated. Several studies have shown, moreover, that the repair of injured renal epithelium starts from mature tubular cells, which enter into an activated proliferative state characterized by the reappearance of mesenchymal markers detectable during nephrogenesis, thus pointing to a marked plasticity of renal epithelial cells. The regenerative potential of mature epithelial cells might stem from their almost unique morphogenetic process. Unlike other tubular organs, all epithelial and mesenchymal cells in the kidney derive from the same germ layer, the mesoderm. In a fascinating view of vertebrate embryogenesis, the mesoderm might be seen as a cell layer capable of oscillating between epithelial and mesenchymal states, thus acquiring a remarkable plasticity that lends it an extended potential for innovation and a better control of three-dimensional body organization. The renal papilla contains a population of cells with the characteristic of adult stem cells. Mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSC) have been found to reside in the connective tissue of most organs, including the kidney. Recent studies indicate that the MSC compartment extends throughout the body postnatally as a result of its perivascular location. Developmental biology suggests that this might be particularly true of the kidney and that the papilla might represent the perivascular renal stem cell niche. The perivascular niche hypothesis fits well with the evolving concept of the stem cell niche as an entity of action. It is its dynamic capability that makes the niche concept so important and essential to the feasibility of regenerative medicine.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Grant No. CPDA085494 from the University of Padua.

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The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Kidney Histomorphology and Molecular Biology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Franca Anglani, Federica Mezzabotta, Monica Ceol & Rosalba Cristofaro

  2. Division of Nephrology, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Dorella Del Prete & Angela D’Angelo

  3. Divisione di Nefrologia, Policlinico IV piano, Laboratorio di Istomorfologia e Biologia Molecolare del Rene, Via Giustiniani n°2, 35128, Padova, Italy

    Franca Anglani

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  1. Franca Anglani
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  2. Federica Mezzabotta
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Correspondence to Franca Anglani.

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Anglani, F., Mezzabotta, F., Ceol, M. et al. The Regenerative Potential of the Kidney: What Can We Learn from Developmental Biology?. Stem Cell Rev and Rep 6, 650–657 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-010-9186-6

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