title: Not a process of simple vicariousness, the differentiation of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells to renal tubular epithelial cells plays an important role in acute kidney injury repairing.
abstract: The recent findings indicate that under conditions of severe tubular injuries, transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may be a promising treatment in acute kidney diseases; nevertheless, the underling mechanism is still under debate. To investigate the differentiation characteristics and the role of MSCs in renal tubular injury, human adipose-derived MSCs (hAD-MSCs) were transplanted into ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) kidneys in C57BL/6 mouse model. Results showed that hAD-MSCs were able to differentiate toward renal tubular epithelium at an early stage of injuries. The differentiated donor cells replaced the vacant space left over by the dead cells, contributed to maintenance of structural integrity and proceeded to a subsequent tissue repair process. Furthermore, MSCs as supportive cells may promote repair via secreting cytokines. The differentiation and replacement of MSCs at an extremely early stage play important roles for the subsequent self-repair and -renewal of functional cells. Direct differentiation of MSCs, as an important mechanism of injured kidney repair, warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Center of Excellence in Tissue Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kanghua
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Lianming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Robert Chunhua
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics; D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000166:cytology*; D000818:Animals; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004487:Edema / Q000473:pathology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053538:Keratin-18 / Q000235:genetics; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000098:blood supply / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D057507:Mice, 129 Strain; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D018183:Transplantation Chimera / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D034961:Antigens, Nuclear; C488421:KRT18 protein, human; D053538:Keratin-18; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen