title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. p.a.murray@liv.ac.uk
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Krasimir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vasilev
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuente Mora
authors.forename: Egon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ranghini
authors.forename: Hayeit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tensaout
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rak-Raszewska
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilm
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Edgar
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Short
authors.forename: Simon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kenny
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy; D008954:Models, Biological; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D054852:Small Molecule Libraries