Engineering scalable vascularized kidney organoids for in vivo glomerular filtration with human endothelial integration.
| Authors | |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | Kidney organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells have emerged as promising models for studying kidney disease and therapeutic development. However, the lack of a scalable production system has limited their industrial applications in regenerative medicine. Here, we have developed a cost-effective mass-production method for manufacturing vascularized kidney organoids, which has improved production efficiency by more than 50 times compared to conventional culture systems. The incorporation of a dynamic culture environment in delta-wing stirred bioreactors has significantly enhanced the glomerular vascularization of kidney organoids via mechanosensory integrin α2β1. Single-cell RNA sequencing and functional analyses demonstrated the enhanced maturation in STR nephron epithelia. The large quantities of vascularized kidney organoids enabled the fabrication of a nephron sheet with nephron numbers equivalent to those found in two rat kidneys. Intravital imaging of a nephron sheet implanted in a dorsal skinfold chamber of mice revealed filtration function with size selectability in the organoid glomeruli vascularized with human endothelia. This work may represent a significant step towards bridging the gap between basic research and commercial products, paving the way towards developing bioengineered kidneys for kidney replacement therapy. |
| Year of Publication | 2026
|
| Journal | npj biomedical innovations
|
| Volume | 3
|
| Issue | 1
|
| Pages | 10
|
| Date Published | 12/2026
|
| ISSN | 3005-1444
|
| DOI | 10.1038/s44385-025-00063-5
|
| PubMed ID | 41640674
|
| Links |