Tissue-Engineering Approaches to Restore Kidney Function.
Kidney transplantation for the treatment of chronic kidney disease has established outcome and quality of life. However, its implementation is severely limited by a chronic shortage of donor organs; consequently, most candidates remain on dialysis and on the waiting list while accruing further morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, those patients that do receive kidney transplants are committed to a life-long regimen of immunosuppressive drugs that also carry significant adverse risk profiles. The disciplines of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have the potential to produce alternative therapies which circumvent the obstacles posed by organ shortage and immunorejection. This review paper describes some of the most promising tissue-engineering solutions currently under investigation for the treatment of acute and chronic kidney diseases. The various stem cell therapies, whole embryo transplantation, and bioengineering with ECM scaffolds are outlined and summarized.
Section of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
Ravi
R
Katari
Lauren
L
Edgar
Theresa
T
Wong
Angela
A
Boey
Sarah
S
Mancone
Daniel
D
Igel
Tyler
T
Callese
Marcia
M
Voigt
Riccardo
R
Tamburrini
Joao Paulo
JP
Zambon
Laura
L
Perin
Giuseppe
G
Orlando
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D044968:Regenerative Medicine; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells; D023822:Tissue Engineering