STEM CELLS AND RENAL DISEASES

Acute and chronic kidney diseases have a complex pathophysiology that may involve both ischemic/inflammatory and immunological injury. In contrast to most current pharmacological agents that target only a single pathophysiological pathway, cell-based therapies act through multiple mechanisms and have the potential to target immunological, vascular and inflammatory pathwaysThere are different cell and organ based approaches using stem cells that are being investigated for the purposes of kidney regeneration. The normal development of the kidney requires the integration of cells, extra cellular matrix, and important growth factors that are fundamental for all this process to occur correctly. Thus, it is important to mention that in trying to engineer appropriate renal tissue or cells, all these components need to be merged appropriately to ultimately rescue the kidney from End Stage Disease or provide viable therapeutic options for regenerative medicine applications focused on the bioengineering of renal tissue for the future.