title: Regenerating a kidney in a lymph node.
abstract: The ultimate treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is orthotopic transplantation. However, the demand for kidney transplantation far exceeds the number of available donor organs. While more than 100,000 Americans need a kidney, only 17,000 people receive a kidney transplant each year (National Kidney Foundation's estimations). In recent years, several regenerative medicine/tissue engineering approaches have been exploited to alleviate the kidney shortage crisis. Although these approaches have yielded promising results in experimental animal models, the kidney is a complex organ and translation into the clinical realm has been challenging to date. In this review, we will discuss cell therapy-based approaches for kidney regeneration and whole-kidney tissue engineering strategies, including our innovative approach to regenerate a functional kidney using the lymph node as an in vivo bioreactor.
authors.affiliation: McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 450 Technology Drive. Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA. francipa@pitt.edu.|Ri.MED Foundation, 90133, Palermo, Italy. francipa@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Maria Giovanna
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Francipane
authors.affiliation: McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 450 Technology Drive. Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1231-4608
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lagasse
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000254:growth & development*; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D038081:Organogenesis; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
keywords: Cell-based regeneration; Kidney; Lymph node; Organogenesis; Whole-organ engineering